I read a poem a couple of days ago that really resonated with me. It was around “enough” and how the richest person can be so much less content than the person who has “enough”. The quote was relating to money; a comfortably wealthy person comparing themselves to a person at the extreme end of ultra wealth.
True story, Word of Honor:
Kurt Vonnegut
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter Island.
I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel ‘Catch-22’
has earned in its entire history?”
And Joe said, “I’ve got something he can never have.”
And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?”
And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
How much is enough?
Less than enough is depriving.
https://www.theminimalists.com/enough/
More than enough is indulging.
Enough is the sweet spot in the middle,
the place where intentionality intersects with contentment,
where lust doesn’t get in the way of creating something meaningful.
I have enough. Enough money in the bank to fix my car immediately when it breaks; enough health to go out for a 6km walk or a 1km swim; a job that is interesting enough and I’m never bored if very frustrated sometimes; enough friends I rarely spend a weekend home alone unless I want some peaceful time.
We all need to learn to live with enough. The planet can’t cope with the gross over-consumption to which we’ve become accustomed. More clothes, more travel, bigger cars, more waste … it has to stop.
And for me, it’s four years since my treatment and I’ve just been to my Pilates class. This weekend I’m kayaking, going to a close friend’s 50th birthday party and next weekend I fly to the UK. I have enough.
Some photographs from 4 years ago. A reminder of the long journey to here.
My Longest Journey 