When is enough, enough?

I wanted to explore today the idea of doing enough and being enough. This is a topic I will probably address often. Since my passion is constantly understanding, uncovering and moving towards more work/life balance, this is a key issue I address in my practice and in my own daily walk. Most people wake up everyday with a to-do list, tasks that need to be addressed, checked off, "accomplished". As we end our day, we often feel we haven't done enough, there is still a pile of things to do and we haven't quite made a dent yet. We are often so drained of energy, some of us go to sleep wary of the next day and others stay up late to find some of that "me" time they couldn't quite fit in during the day. It is an endless cycle and one that take us far away from balance. 

It begs the question, why are we here? Why do we exist to do more and be more and we never seem to get wherever it is we are going. That space where our energy sinks, where discouragement sets in or overwhelm or disappointment is a dead end road and it leads us away from being really alive. We hit these feelings when we are not living to our set of standards, the picture we have of where we should be, what we should accomplish, what is enough. And who creates this picture? Ultimately, we do. 

So today I began to contemplate why we exist, what is beyond the endless trying to be enough and do enough,  and I saw a new perspective. What if the only reason we are here is to move forward, to gain some win or triumph, to grow, even one millionth of an inch. Then the victories we have every day, as small as they might be or as vast as they might be is all we have to do to be fulfilling that purpose. Just getting out of bed can be a great accomplishment, packing your kids off for school, tucking them in, connecting with a friend, kissing a loved one. Simple triumphs that have a ripple effect on all of humanity. If you subscribe to the idea that at some level we are connected through collective consciousness, and I do, then you have to see that every courageous step you take no matter how small is a great gift to humanity. 

I don't know if this will change the way you look at things, but it did for me. My journey towards balance is a constant walk. I, like so many others, struggle with my humanity, my weaknesses, my life challenges. So much of what I preach, I practice. My life lessons are what I have to offer the world. Being okay with what I do everyday and with who I am is one of those life lessons. Accepting that everything I do, no matter how small, is enough. That it adds to the world in some small or large way. It may not be my picture of who I should be today, but it is who I am. 

I look at people as having one side that is divinity and one side that is humanity. They are both beautiful and necessary. Yet, the more we accept and love our humanity, the more our divinity shines. In my belief system our humanity is the limiting beliefs we hold, the ego, the compulsions, all of those things that help us forget who we really are. We are our divinity. Every time we are letting our divine essence flow, there is nothing else to do, nothing else to be. We are perfect as we are in every moment. We just need to acknowledge it.  Acknowledge that we got up this morning, that we got our kids off to school, that we did something that moved us forward. And that is good enough. 

We can go to bed knowing that we changed humanity, one little drop of consciousness at a time. We can stop beating ourselves up for not getting enough done, and realize we are always enough already. I encourage you to do that today. Stand up and say "I am enough, I do enough". Acknowledge all you did today as being good. Look for the little ways you are being your divine essence: a smile there, a consideration here, a moment of giving, an intention to serve others. Enjoy the state of just being for a few moments. Breathe in this moment. Look around you at the colors, the shapes, the movement. This is good enough. As always, I salute the divinity in you and I wish you many blessings on this journey towards life.