How much is enough?
This is the question that we all need to ask ourselves every once in a while. It is important for us to have an answer to this question because we often find ourselves caught in an endless loop of want for more without stopping for a moment to look back and think if we have had enough yet.
Now the real problem is not earning money itself. The problem comes when we sacrifice our precious time, effort, relationships, values and everything that we have in order to earn ‘enough’.
Here are 2 examples that made me stop and think ‘how much is enough?’
This happened during the COVID19 lockdown that most part of the world has witnessed.
I realized that I was running out of cooking gas and it would be a long time before I could get a refill.
I called a friend who I knew had 2 extra filled gas cylinders for sure. This is how our conversation went:
Me: Hi, I called you to find out if you could lend me one of the two spare gas cylinders that you have, it will help me during this time of crisis, in case I run out of gas at home.
Friend1:Oh! thats bad. The situation is so grim, I am not sure if I can do away with the spare cylinder I have, there could be short supply of cylinders, SORRY!!
Now I called another friend who I thought might have a spare cylinder.
Me: Hi, I called you to find out if you can lend me a spare gas cylinder if you have.
Friend2: Oh! sure. I do have one spare cylinder, and my current cylinder lasts for about 32 days before I will need a refill. I can surely give it to you for now since you are in need.
Me: Oh wait, looks like you are dependent on it too. Maybe I should look elsewhere. Never mind.
Friend2: No no, please have mine. You can always return it to me in 30 days or so and I can get my refill, not really an issue 🙂
Here’s another example.
Edward Jeevan, a good friend of mine, once handed a packet of food to some beggar on the street.
He was touched to see that he used only as much as he needed to satiate his hunger for the moment and gave away the rest to a dog on the street without worrying about what he would eat for the night if he gave away what he had in hand now!!
Now let’s come back to the same question. How much is enough?
Any amount of anything isn’t enough to satisfy ones wants.
Abundance is really a conditioning of the mind. The beggar believed in his mind that his need of food was for that moment to satiate his hunger pangs. Hence he believed he had food in abundance and passed the rest on to a dog in need of that food.
Similarly, Friend2 believed he had enough gas to cater to his needs for the next 30 days and hence he was happy to pass the second cylinder to me without worrying about scarcity like Friend1.
So now you see. If you condition and train your mind to differentiate between needs and wants, you will always have everything in surplus and this applies to all aspects of life.
Abundance is indeed a conditioning of the mind to see abundance in what you have!
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