I woke up this morning with a seemingly natural and justifiable thought — I did not have enough sleep! Same day at work, I had so much to do and again, a thought popped up — I don’t have enough time! The entity changed but “not enough” remained constant. Our thoughts create feelings and ultimately the reality of our lives. It is so often that we get deluded by this “not enough” chain of thoughts that create so much discontent in our lives. This discontent often shifts our focus on what we don’t have. In the process, we overlook what we already have. Yes, sometimes, discontent leads you to take action that may get you into better situation but I am talking about the discontent that arises from fear and insecurity.
You have a home — But not enough bedrooms. If there are enough bedrooms, not enough backyard. If there’s big enough backyard, not good enough locality and then it goes on and on! It is never enough.
You have a car — But it’s not quick enough! Yes, that’s me I am talking about. The car I have is pretty damn quick but 6 months into the ownership and it’s not quick enough. Never enough KiloWatts!
You have a wardrobe full of clothes — But when you enter the wardrobe, you feel like you have nothing to wear. Not enough clothes.
You have a phone-But not enough megapixels.
Think about your bank balance — Is it ever enough? No matter how much you earn, it is not enough.
If you are young — you don’t have enough time to do.
If you are in your retirement — you have time but don’t have enough to do.
Regardless of the age, lack is our constant companion one way or other.
The lack is not just at the material level. The same phenomena exists at the emotional level too.
You have a job — But you feel that you don’t get enough appreciation, acknowledgement or monetary reward for what you do.
You have children — But they are not good enough compared to others’.
“Not enough” permeates many aspects of our lives. Not enough love, care, respect, attention, validation and the list goes on.
“Not enough” may seem as trivial and absolutely normal thought pattern but it has significant consequences if you think about it. It may have contributed to ecological and economical imbalance on the planet. We have enough natural resources however, people don’t have clean water to drink in many parts of the world. We have printed enough money but some people struggle to get the food on their plates.
This happens when we misjudge “enough”!
When is it enough? What is enough? How much is enough? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves.
Somewhere we have to draw the line and say — This is enough.
Because enough never feels enough.
“The ego wants to want more than it wants to have.” — Eckhart Tolle
