For the past several months we have been working with the question, “How will I know when I have enough?” And we have approached this question from several different angles, for example, “How will I know when I’m doing enough?” and “How will I know when I’m spending enough time with those I love most?” We talked about what is a big challenge for many women, “How will I know when I have enough time for myself?” And also difficult for many of us, “How will I know when I have enough ‘stuff’?”
From a larger perspective what would it mean to live in “enough consciousness?” To be aware of how we are seeing the world in which we live rather than like a fish being unable to describe what it is like to live in water because it is just how things are. This is an important consideration. At the present time most of us are living in a “sea” of “more, bigger, better, faster, richer is good, thinner is good,” etc. In addition to this push from our culture, we also may feel it from the human development movement, which beginning in the 60’s has invited us to consider all the ways we could be better, more spiritual, more “who we really are,” more “on purpose,” more “in alignment.”
What all these messages may lead to is a deep feeling of “not enough,” of scarcity, of living in a zero sum game where the more you get, the less I get because there is only so much to go around. And when I live from this place, I can never be happy and feel fulfilled. I can never feel as if I really have enough because, since whatever it is might run out, I need to keep getting more now before it does. I can never feel as if I am enough because there is always more I can be in order to be more than you, get my fair share of whatever: titles, degrees, certificates, spiritual experiences, accolades.
We know that how we see the world and how we see ourselves depend to an extent on the assumptions we make. For example, do I assume that the world is basically a friendly, unfriendly or neutral place? Do I assume I am smart, strong and able to talk care of myself or do I assume the opposite? With these examples it is fairly easy to see that if I feel that the world is basically an unfriendly place and that I am not strong enough to take adequate care of myself, then I probably will be afraid to step out and try new things without solid guarantees of safety, which often are not possible to give even with the best intentions of those around us.
During the next month, I invite you to set your watch, phone, or a timer to alert you once an hour. When you hear or feel the alert, stop and consider the following:
What am I assuming right now about the sufficiency or lack in my current situation?
How am I feeling about myself in this moment?
Am I feeling bright or bleak about my life?
Once we have a sense of the usual tone of the answers to these questions, we will have a much better idea of how near or far away we are to living in enough consciousness.