The Voice of Not Enough

I practice weekly with a Master Mind partner, something I have been doing for over 20 years. I find it to be valuable and essential for my well-being, my focus. Before we ask for each other’s support, we read from a short list of phrases that helps bring our week’s intention into a laser focus. For years, one of the phrases reminds me that I am “provided for” and always have what I need to accomplish my goals.  I have been reading that phrase for over 20 years and while I understood it intellectually, until this past Friday I didn’t truly understand what it meant. This “ah-ha” helped me grasp a few things that were embarrassingly apparent! First, some things take a long time to register (it’s called evolution); secondly, I have ALWAYS had what I needed to reach my goals, I just didn’t know it (having what you need does not mean there is not challenge or struggle); and third (and most important of all) is that I was fooled by the glitz and glamour of ads, life style, and “wants” to the point that I could not appreciate what I had. That led, unfortunately, to an unconscious whisper that often suggested I did not have enough.

Life is a wonderful teacher. If we are fortunate to live long enough, we discover the things that matter are before us, waiting for our recognition and acknowledgment. I would not trade one dark alley for the light I now occasionally bask in. I just wish my learning curve had been a little less steep; that the precious hours given to me could have been more often appreciated instead of survived. The infectious ads that told me I needed things I really didn’t simply created pressures within me that stole my peace, insisting that I needed more, needed to be more, and needed to do more. The fear generated within my unconscious from these messages became an actual threat to my health.

I understand there is a significant difference between survival needs (food, shelter, and clothing) and the life I now live. But essentially, the human spirit has everything it needs to overcome and provide for itself if we can only traverse the society that defines for us what “not enough” really means. What if for today, today only, you could acknowledge with deep gratitude the blessings you have and how they serve you (even the challenges)? What if you accept unconditionally your life circumstances: the job you go to, the food on your plate, the clothes on your body, the shape you carry physically, the relationships you have…what if for just today those things are enough? What if for today YOU are (with all your mistakes and victories) beautifully enough? Swimming in the pool of acceptance, you will find a deep sense of relief and joy. You will float (as a friend suggested) on water without effort, being held by some miraculous force, with complete freedom and in peace. Maybe this one day can lead to many and if it challenges the economy, oh well. My peace is worth that price.