The Satisfaction of Enough

 Recently I read online an article that impressed me greatly.  I cannot now find the site nor remember the names of the people.  The web site asked the question, “What changed my life?”  Several people responded.  One response was simply titled “Enough.”  The writer told the story of being at a party in the Hamptons at a palatial home.  He called it a palace.  While there he was talking to the author of a recent book and asked the author this question:  “How does it make you feel knowing that this man (the owner of the home) makes more money in one day than you did all last year on your book?”  The reply of the author was, “It does not bother me because I have something he does not have.”  Whereupon the man asked, “What could you possibly have that this man does not?”  The author’s answer was, “I know the meaning of enough.”

 The writer identified that statement as one that changed his way of thinking.  He realized that he had enough and began to give money away helping others and doing acts of service.

Combining this thought with the idea of living a simple life brings me to consider my life.  When do I have enough?  When is our house large enough?  When do I have enough vehicles?  When do I have enough land?  While I have thought for years about living the simple life, it is proving more difficult than I would have imagined.

I am reminded of the short story by Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, who wrote, “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”  In the story Pahom is offered for a very reasonable price all the land that he can walk around in one day.  He starts at sunrise.  He tries to calculate how far he can go and still get back to the beginning point by sundown.  He pushes himself again and again to keep going and get as much land as possible before turning back toward the starting point.  Eventually he has to run back, arriving at sundown only to collapse and die after such an exhausting day.  The title question is answered in the last sentence:  “Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed.”