So, I realize that I have not blogged here for a while. I think I am finally figuring out Google+  enough and have enough connections to make this worthwhile. The concept of enough is one of the most important concepts in simplifying and enjoying life.

I often want more than i have now. More money; a better phone; another bicycle; a bigger place to live, so I could have an art studio room; a newer car; nicer clothes; more success; more, more, more.......

What happens when I get more? I'm not satisfied because because there will always be something else that I want, that I feel I need. It’s impossible to satisfy that hunger for more, because our culture is geared to wanting more. It’s consumerism, and it’s the official religion of the industrialized world.

So, I ask myself how much is enough, how much do I need in order to be satisfied? I submit that the answer is that I already have enough — possibly more than enough.

Enough doesn’t mean the just bare necessities of life. That would be food, water, shelter and clothing. It could be a house with a bed, a table, a chair, a place for food storage and preparation, a toilet, perhaps a shower. That’s not really enough.

Enough means having enough to live, and enough to be happy, and enough to thrive. For me, as I get extreme happiness from bicycling and photography, I need a bicycle and a camera. Perhaps it doesn't need to be a new bicycle with disc brakes and all, or a top of the line digital camera with interchangeable lenses, but I need a bicycle and a camera. 

For others enough may mean the need for things such as a notebook and pens, musical instruments, video technology, or a  kitchen full of pots and pans and the raw ingredients for baking. Enough would also mean food beyond just survival food — food that makes us happy, but not so much food that we are being excessive and gorging ourselves.

Enough could include cars, if those are necessary, but for some people it wouldn’t necessarily mean owning a car, especially if they don’t have kids and live close enough to the things they need, such as a grocery store or work.

Consider the following when thinking about the concept of enough.

 You don’t want to just survive, you want to thrive. You want to be good at what you do, and do what you love. You want to be passionate about the things you do, and be successful at them. What do you need in order to do that? How many tools or material things do you need to thrive?

 You need to survive, of course, but you probably don’t want to be miserable as you survive. A comfortable bed is probably important ( I’ve have sleep very well on a futon, so a “comfortable bed” doesn’t have to be an expensive one), but how many extra trimmings does that bed need in order to be comfortable? How nice do the sheets need to be? Examine your ideas of comfort and then see what’s really necessary for that comfort. Sometimes you’ll realize that only a minimum of things are needed for real comfort.

Take a look around you, and think about everything in your home. How much of it goes beyond these things that make up the concept of “enough”? Do you really need them, or do they go beyond enough? We all want things we don’t have. What are they, and are they needed to have “enough”? Why do you want them? Can you be happy, comfortable, and thriving without them? And if so, how can you give up your desire for those things?

Do you really need all the income you bring in, or is much of it to support a lifestyle that includes more than enough? For example, you might have expensive cars when only one cheap, used car is enough. Or no car at all. Or you might have an expensive home when it’s really more than enough. Or credit card debt from too many trips, too much shopping, too much eating out. If you didn’t spend all that money, and didn’t always want more than enough, perhaps you wouldn’t need as much income. There are almost certainly people living happily and comfortably on a lower income than yours. I'm not saying you should get a lesser job or go work for free, but you could give more away to those who don't have enough if you didn't have all those bills to pay or if you didn’t have to work as much, you might be happier and you might enjoy volunteering somewhere. It’s something to think about, anyway.