As I look around at the state of the world, and the great divide between the haves and the have-nots, it gets me thinking about how much is enough, and why it always seems to be that nothing is ever enough. Underneath all the acquiring lurks the feeling of that something more we’re looking for but never seem to find. All this outward attainment has brought us to the erroneous conclusion that constantly accumulating all kinds of stuff will somehow increase our self-worth. But what is it we are really trying to fill our lives with and what is all the endless desiring for the things we don’t have doing for us? If after so many repeated attempts at filling this internal black hole with stuff hasn’t worked, why are we still so unwilling to try something else?
Maybe it’s just that we don’t know where to start looking. The truth is accumulating things doesn’t have anything to do with what we need but it has everything to do with how we feel, or perhaps more importantly, what we don’t want to feel. Then our purchases become about keeping certain thoughts and emotions at bay. It’s the hope that something else will magically fix whatever is wrong or missing or broken. But all of these beautiful things we keep buying will never make us feel more whole, needed, necessary, powerful, loved, or wanted, not for long anyway. The only way to begin deciphering what it is our soul is really asking for is by fearlessly looking into the very places within us we wish weren’t there. These are the pieces and parts of ourselves we often ignore or stuff down, the things we feel ashamed about, and what we don’t like or accept about ourselves.
Searching out our wounds may not sound like much fun and honestly, it pretty much isn’t. Which is why it always seems easier to buy another hosie-majig to cover up the longing or fear or our heartbroken weariness instead of rallying our inner resources and getting to our soul truth that can finally deliver what we’ve been searching for. If we continually refuse to give ourselves what we need and depend on others or our possessions to fix our melancholy or misalignments we can languish indefinitely. Nothing and no one else will ever be able to fill in the gaps of what’s missing in our lives. We are the only ones who know how to do that. Only we can fill the vacuum within ourselves with what we truly need. All we have to do is begin in a direction that feels right, whether it’s poetry, art, friendship, nature, love, or making a contribution in the community.
What we really need can’t be bought. What brings wholeness doesn’t come prepackaged, it is already inside just waiting to be uncovered. Getting to this feeling of wholeness and belonging is a journey, it’s our own personal journey that each one of us must take alone. All we have to do is start where we are.
Quiet down for a moment and think about where you are on your journey. What does your life look like and what do you want to it to look like? What’s enough for you? What makes you feel you have all you need to be safe and secure, fulfilled and happy? What would it take to feel alive and aligned right where you are with what you have? Think about what all the endless desiring and accruing of stuff is really doing for you and what it’s covering up. And what might you do with your time if you weren’t shopping or endlessly collecting or obsessing about what else you need to do or buy?
It’s time to let go of the idea that purchasing another pair of designer jeans or a new car will make you something more or better than you already are. More stuff doesn’t heal or mend the soul, it’s just more to dust or insure. Look deeper to find what you’re yearning for, what’s missing, and what it is you really need. Then break your heart wide open with an honest answer.
What is your enough?
kb
