What if we just decided that we have enough? That we are enough? – Shonda Rhimes
When it comes to the meaning and content of our lives it’s easy to feel like nothing is ever enough. I don’t know if it’s a disease of the 21st century or if it’s always been that way. The nagging feeling that what we’re doing with our life is not enough, especially when we start comparing it to others. We wonder will it ever be enough? Perhaps the real question we should be asking is what is it that would make it enough.
I think the answer to that question is meaning. Overscheduling our life is a main culprit. It fakes us out so that the busywork feels like real accomplishment. Even though these daily chores need to get done, and we all know they can pile up, it doesn’t mean that this is all there is to life. Doing the grocery shopping, washing the car, taking the dog to the vet can never be a substitute for the deeper level within that need a voice, and gentle and generous tending to.
For starters we can look at what makes us feel more whole, what resonates with our deeper sense of self. This will point us to the things that enlarge our life and give it meaning. The things that give us the feeling that what we are doing adds to the quality and depth of our daily living. We can also think about how our these actions effect our future. Is what we’re doing today moving us towards something bigger or are we burning our life down? If we’re honest we know when we’re on the right path for us because we feel it in our bones. We can let our self be guided by that feeling rather than the action or outcome.
When we take care of the deeper aspects of ourselves and tend to what brings us joy, we begin to feel more whole, that it’s enough. Then we’re enough. Because we are taking care of what lives within us that is most real, what has meaning beyond the material. This feeling of more is what we want to carry over into our daily living. It’s what imbues our days with meaning and mystery. That’s soul work. It’s what really calls for our attention, and leaves us empty if we don’t care for it.
When we do something that is worthwhile and meaningful to us we are engaged in it, can’t get enough of it, and feel alive, more like our true selves. We don’t feel we are wasting our time while doing it. And the opposite is just as true, if we hate what we’re doing we feel empty or used, we procrastinate or dread. Our reaction to what we are doing with our life tells the whole story. It tells us if we’re headed in the right direction. It’s no simple task aligning these two worlds, the inner and the outer, most of the time it is much simpler to do what’s easy instead of what’s right for us. But the reward lies with taking the risk and doing the work to fill our life with what really matters to us, no matter what other people may think about it. Most likely our life will not look anything like everyone else’s. It doesn’t have to, it just has to be real.
There are plenty of things to do but what about the things that sustain our soul and make us soar? It’s never about how much we do, but the quality of what we do that nourishes us and nourishes our soul. Turning our awareness within and honoring what we find there puts us on a trajectory for living a life that is enough.
Just because we do more or have more, doesn’t mean we are more. Let’s choose to live a life that has real meaning for us.
kb
