What is Enough?

Aaron and I, Thanksgiving 2010

I have been meaning to post for a while - I have lots of ideas buzzing around in my head, but can't seem to find the time to sit down and organize them in writing.  I had a post regarding gratitude that seemed most appropriate for the Thanksgiving season, however, I came across a passage in a new book I'm reading (checked out from the library!) that I felt compelled to share it here.....especially on today, Black Friday.

The book is entitled "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez - it was recommended by a fellow church member.  The book contains many important points, but one of the key elements is defining the meaning of "enough" and perhaps, the idea of "enough" has been lost in our society of shopping and consumerism - perhaps this is a perfect post for Black Friday.  My mom informed me that the police were called to a local shopping establishment due to unruly shoppers - I'm astounded that some people put this much emphasis on acquiring "stuff".

So here is the passage:

"So what's all that stuff beyond enough - beyond the peak, where the Fulfillment Curve* begins to go down?  Clutter, that's what!  Clutter is anything that is excess - for you.  It's whatever you have that doesn't serve you, yet takes up space in your world.  To let go of clutter, then, is not deprivation; it's lightening up and opening up space for something new to happen.  As self-evident as these ideas may be, many people experience a subtle (or not so subtle) resistance to letting them in.  This is why downscaling, frugality and thrift sound like deprivation, lack and need.  On the contrary!  Enough is a wide and stable plateau.  It is a place of alertness, creativity and freedom.  From this place, being suffocated under a mountain of clutter that must be stored, cleaned, moved, gotten rid of and paid for on time is a fate worse than dearth." (p. 24-25)

*The book defines the Fulfillment Curve as follows:

"At the peak of the Fulfillment Curve we have enough.  Enough for our survival.  Enough comforts.  And even enough little "luxuries".  We have everything we need; there's nothing extra to weigh us down, distract or distress us, nothing we've bought on time, have never used and are slaving to pay off.  Enough is a fearless place.  A trusting place.  An honest and self-observant place.  It's appreciating and fully enjoying what money brings into your life and yet never purchasing anything that isn't needed and wanted." (p. 23)

So, I decided this year on Black Friday, for the first year, not to shop - not for anything, not in stores, not on-line, just to see if I could do it and also to see if I could live to tell about it - ha ha!  Now that it's the end of the day, do I fill deprived?  Not a chance, I don't feel as though I missed out on anything, I am perfectly happy here with "enough" to survive, enough to be comfortable and enough little luxuries.

So off I head to part with more "stuff" - for those of you following earlier posts, the giant sweater pile has diminished by 8 - and will continue to diminish through the season - we have parted with many books and I continue to let things go, leaving more time for family, less time spent on worrying how to pay for things and more time focusing on the things that have no price tag and really, aren't those the most important things of all?