How much is enough?

These days it seems like nothing is ever enough. We fill our lives with things, with activities, with people, with food, with entertainment, with diagnoses and labels, with complaints. You get the point. We are living in an age of excess and at what cost? Do we ever contemplate what life would be like with less?

Our lives are lived, not in a relaxed state, but one of angst. Many of us feel as though we have never arrived at our final destination. We aren't enjoying the journey, but we are accumulating a lot of baggage. How long do we have to travel with unnecessary burdens before we realize that we, alone, are enough?

I think back to when my first child was old enough to interact with the celebration of Christmas. In an effort to demonstrate my love and adoration for a child I had wanted and worked for so desperately I overspent and made a ridiculous material display of affection. She was too young to really unwrap things by herself, so my husband and I had to do it for her. And you know what? She wasn't nearly as interested in the toys, as she was the boxes and paper that they came in.

Are we like that? Do we search the ads and the stores for the next new gadget or piece of technology only to find a slight bit of disappointment once the box is open and the newness has worn off? Are we like the Grinch realizing that Christmas doesn't come from a store? Are our lives filled with things that don't matter? Are the minutes of our days filled with activities that don't matter? Do we spend our time worrying about people who don't matter? Do we spend our time arguing about things that don't matter?

I am exploring the concept of minimalism. I'm not selling all my stuff and going off to live in a cave. But I am reconsidering my beliefs about stuff, people, activities, power, control, money, food, sleep, energy, balance, consumption, accumulation, grace, forgiveness, gratitude, release, holding on and letting go, needs and wants. I'm beginning to get a lot more selective about the people, places, things, and ideas that I want to keep in my life. I'm uncovering courage that has been buried under fear for a very long time. Fear of not having enough, fear of not being enough, fear of letting go. Letting go is a very freeing experience.

I am contemplating enough. I am putting down the unnecessary burdens and letting go of the limiting beliefs that weigh me down. I am beginning to enjoy the journey and be at home in my own skin. I'm tossing out the guilt and the worry and focusing on the here and now. I'm getting out of the comparison game and just focusing on being present. And that is enough.