This question was asked of me on February 6^th of this year.  My reply?  Both. 

The New Year brought with it a renewed sense of hope; hope of answered prayers and the opportunity for a fresh start.  2011 was teeming with the curiosity and excitement of unearthing something new.  And until January 22^nd, all was going according to plan.  I was gliding along on my magic carpet when SUDDENLY! the rug was pulled from beneath me.  With no parachute, I found myself plummeting fast, grasping for something…anything, to save me from the hard landing that inevitably awaited me below.  It was all happening so fast, so much so that oxygen seemed to escape me.  Desperately gasping for air, every breath seemed both a blessing and a curse.  

While the ride down was scary and exhausting, it was not to be compared to the moment I ultimately hit the ground.  It hurt like hell.  I cried a river of silent tears.  And as difficult as some days were, I knew that staying down was not an option.  Somewhere in my unconscious, I knew that something great awaited me.  I couldn’t erase what had happened.  I had to fully acknowledge it, mourn, then mentally and emotionally move beyond it.  In other words, I had to become content with the reality that my carpet ride had come to an end.  But I still remembered the excitement and thrill of my magic carpet ride, so I’m compelled to jump on again.  Traveling to foreign lands, falling in love, becoming a wealthy independent freelancer…yep, I want it all.  But that’s just my definition of excitement. 

 content¹  [kənˈtɛnt]                                                                                                                           4. peace of mind; mental or emotional satisfaction 

ex·cite² /[ik-sahyt]                                                                                                                         –verb (used with object), -cit·ed, -cit·ing.                                                                                 3. to cause; awaken: to excite interest or curiosity.                                                                      4. to stir to action; provoke or stir up  

The Apostle Paul states “…I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” 

Or take Edgar Allen Poe, “The ninety and nine are with dreams, content but the hope of the world made new, is the hundredth man who is grimly bent on making those dreams come true.” 

So I suppose my answer to the question is summed up in Poe’s quote.  I am that hundredth man he speaks of that is content with the reality, yet filled with the hope of the new possibilities that await me when I arise.  

What about you…are you seeking Contentment or Excitement? 

http://dictionary.reference.com/