Enough. . .
We live in an age that constantly reminds us of what we do not have. Open your phone and someone has a better house, a better body, a better vacation, a more exciting life or apparently a much happier breakfast than you. It can be exhausting.
The strange part is that most of us already have far more than we once thought we needed.
Buddhism has always had an interesting relationship with desire. The teaching isn’t that we should stop enjoying things. Enjoy your home. Enjoy your dinner. Enjoy your travels, music, art, friends and all the beautiful experiences this strange little life offers.
The problem begins when enjoyment becomes requirement – I must have this to be happy. I must achieve that to feel successful or I must become something else before I can appreciate who I am now. That little word must can carry a lot of weight.
Contentment is not giving up. It is understanding the difference between improving your life and constantly being dissatisfied with it. You can work toward tomorrow without declaring today inadequate and that is an important distinction.
I think sometimes we need to simply stop and take inventory. Not an inventory of possessions, but an inventory of life.
Who loves you?
Who do you love?
What still makes you laugh?
What can your body still do?
What have difficult years taught you?
What ordinary things would you desperately miss if they disappeared tomorrow?
Suddenly “not enough” begins looking surprisingly full. There will always be another level. Another purchase. Another accomplishment. Another person seemingly doing better than we are.
Let them and walk your own path. Enjoy what you have while you have it. Improve what you can. Release what you cannot. And don’t become so occupied building a better life that you fail to notice the perfectly imperfect one already happening.
Enough doesn’t mean there is nothing more to experience. Enough means we finally stop requiring more before allowing ourselves to experience peace.
Peace and Love, Jim
#enough #thedailybuddha #tdb
