Neither more nor less is enough. How wonderful it is to recognize that enough becomes enough, my subject for the dog days of August.
Phrases posted on Facebook, August 2024
We each have only so many days to enjoy. A time comes when having tried too long slows us down to the pace of grace, and we can move into a deeper, more authentic life.
When I fidget and am restless, it seems to me that my body is telling me to move, to do, to get going!!But now I deeply suspect those fidgets and bits of restlessness. They may be legitimate nudges, but they may also be an invitation to see what is present which does not need anything to be done for it..
When the cup is full, and we think we should have more, the more we think we want has no place to be received. What a paradox! The less we crave and want empties our cup of fullness and more just comes pouring in.
What’s enough here? is a question that cuts through a lot and is hugely helpful. What’s enough on my plate? What’s enough in the closet? How many hours of work or sleep are enough? I love the question. It is a friend that steers me in the right direction.
The great Rabbi, Abraham Joshua Heschel, said that “Just to be is holy”. There can’t be anything more basic, and if deeply understood and lived it far more than enough.
I am not alone in finding that if I truly center myself in the present, that turns out to be enough.
We know the straw that broke the camel’s back points out how little things, untended and piled on, can eventually break us. Unload one straw at a time and already that begins to be enough to bring about a change for the better.
Here’s a “just right and enough” story. For years I attended the Quaker Meeting in Waterford, CT. One of the members was Betty Chu, a gentle, loving, present and realized woman. She was greatly loved. As Betty grew older, she would sometimes fall asleep during worship and because of the silence we could hear her soft snuffles clearly. Hearing these small continual sounds, we weren’t annoyed. We didn’t fall asleep. We fell into peace. How lovely that a small snore can be enough!
Some years ago, I kept what I called a “joy book”. It was a tiny, inexpensive journal in which I wrote down at least one small thing that brought me joy each day. I didn’t try to be eloquent; I was just recording. Here are some samples: April 10, the first crocuses have opened. Sept. 13, First bite of a fall apple. Yum! Dec.13, the smell of saffron bread traditional for this day. You get the idea. Doing this was a way to stay attentive and to realize how many wonderful things I was experiencing that were more than enough.
The body just can’t take the repeated subjugation of too much food, drink, work, exercise, etc. The more and more which our culture often emphasizes becomes the opposite. To know for ourselves what is enough and to act on it, is a path of establishing physical health. It’s also a path to more ease and grace.
This is a silly post. I hope it makes you smile. In Swedish, when we love someone, we call them our beloved little pig, the way the French say, my beloved little cabbage. A Swedish pig does not say “oink”. It says “nuff”. So, here’s the crux of it. I can’t love my grand kids enough. I can’t love them “e-nuff, nuff”. That’s enough of “nuff” for now.
Have you ever had the grace of a deep, quiet state where you no longer want anything, need anything, and find yourself in a spaciousness where you don’t even need to be who you are? That’s for sure when nothing is enough! Such a mystery! Thank you for mulling with me.
It’s hard to believe that today is the last day of August. This month’s subject is coming to an end as well, and I want to close with a quote from my book, Match: Bringing Heart and Will into Alignment. “We spend hours performing the needful, yet the soul can live on thirty seconds of fiery encounter and be filled.”
