By Nathan Rice

It was the first nice Saturday afternoon we had in a long time, so I passed on everything I had planned and said, “Who wants to go to the zoo?” I had two eager takers. We jumped in the car, drove through a tunnel and ended up at the Virginia Zoological Park.

The animals, along with us, were enjoying the sun. The monkeys were swinging, the kangaroos were hopping, and the tigers were pacing back and forth. The first sunny day brought the zoo to life, and the two with me happily went from exhibit to exhibit.

I figured it was OK to spend some extra money, so we brought pretzels and drinks at the first food stand we encountered. Later, we stumbled across an ice cream stand between the lions and the kangaroos, and I was convinced through some clever words that we should celebrate the arrival of warm weather with a cup of ice cream.

It was a fun afternoon, and everyone was pleased with our spontaneous outing. Everyone was pleased, that is, until we saw the gift shop. The happy demeanor on one changed when I explained that I would not buy him the “coolest stuffed turtle ever” from the gift shop.

He had just completed an impromptu outing to a zoo where he had a front row view of some of his favorite animals, eaten a pretzel in the sun, finished his drink while watching some tigers, and had a cup of ice cream while listening to the sounds of the animals around him. But his day — at least for a moment — was being ruined because he didn’t get a stuffed turtle.

I tried to use this as a learning experience as I reminded him that he had an unexpected trip to the zoo, a pretzel, a soda, and a cup of ice cream, and I urged him not to get upset because he couldn’t have the stuffed turtle. The lesson didn’t seem to click; he really wanted that turtle. Unfortunately, the lesson never clicks for a lot of adults either.

We may not be sitting next to a bin of stuffed animals saddened by the fact we cannot take one home, but we often allow ourselves to become depressed by what we do not have as we ignore everything we have already been given.

Rather than being pleased with a roof over our heads, a car that allows us to get around, and a job that pays our bills, we are saddened by the fact that our house isn’t bigger, our car isn’t newer and our job doesn’t pay more.

There’s nothing wrong with working hard to get nicer things, but we should not allow our lives to be ruined by focusing on what we do not have instead of enjoying the things already around us.

Contentment is something that is learned, and I hope the turtle-loving one with me at the zoo learned a little bit more about it that day. Perhaps it’s time we all learn to be content with what we have, even if someone who “must have more money somewhere” refuses to buy us the coolest stuffed turtle ever.

Nathan Rice is a Hampton Roads native and can be reached at nrice@abnb.org.