Having Enough

Gratitude turns what you have into enough.  That’s a saying I see from time to time on my Pinterest and Facebook feeds.  Because it’s Thanksgiving week, I’ve decided to write series of post on gratitude and that quote seems like a great way to kick it off.

To be entirely honest, enough is a difficult concept for me.  Enough money, enough love, enough attention or recognition or validation or whatever it is I happen to crave is often elusive. What is enough?  How do you know when you have it?  Frankly, if something is good, I always want more.  If I see one sweater I like, why not have it in two colors?  My toothpaste drawer and toilet paper stash demonstrates that I always think I better pick up another of those staples, just to make sure I have enough.  When I ran my half-marathons, I carry water myself.  Just want to make sure I have enough.  You get the picture. 

But pondering what is enough makes be realize that the quest for enough searches almost entirely out there.  Enough is somewhere or something out there.

In contrast, when I start listing what I am grateful for, I start here inside. I’m grateful for health, I’m grateful for mental and physical wellbeing, I’m grateful for strength and resilience and love and kindness and friends and family.  The list goes on and on, but it always starts right here.  When I focus on what I already have, the things I don’t have seem to fade out of sight.  When I practice gratitude, I redirect my brain from the endless search out there to a more contented accounting of what’s already here.

I don’t have to look far to see that I have enough.  That’s not true for everyone. But for me right now and right here, I really do have everything I need.  Recognizing it is one thing, but truly appreciating it is another.

Today I’m an overjoyed to have enough.  Hope you all feel the same.