enough

Probably an apocryphal story, but I don't care.  Here it is.

Kurt Vonnegut  is at a party with Joseph Heller, the author of among other things, Catch-22.  They are at the home of some super-rich person.  

Vonnegut turns to Heller and says, "I wonder what it would be like to have all this?".

Heller replies, "Nice but I have something this guy will never have".

Vonnegut, "What's that?".

Heller, "Enough".

What an idea, to simply have 'enough'.  To be content.  It says nothing about should you be ambitious or not, or should you work hard or not, or should you get up in the morning.  All of that stuff is about your goals, aspirations for yourself and your family, and doing what you want with your life.

Instead I hear it as simple contentedness.

I know lots of people to whom the concept of 'enough' is terrifying.  They are in a race with their 'demons'; their parent's expectations (even long dead ones), their neighbours, their own insecurities and 'More' is the yardstick by which they evaluate themselves.  

If they have 'More' then they are successful.  But its a moving target and of course, meaningless.

What about trying on 'Enough'.  

The truth is I for one have 'too much' and need to pare down to 'enough'.  

I'm not just talking about shoes Imilda.  I mean enough things, enough appointments on the calendar, enough commitments, enough food, enough wine, enough skurrying about, enough everything.

So I'm thinking about paring it down perhaps.  Perhaps.

But likely more importantly, I am considering what I am striving for, what's the motivation? - if its just 'More' then likely 'Enough' will do just fine.