We Have Enough

“I have some idea of what enough is.”

This week I opened up Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now,” a book about what comes to us when we quiet our thoughts and see the world before us in the present moment. It starts with the story of a beggar who has been sitting by the side of the road. Here’s the story in Tolle’s words:

“Spare some change?” the beggar said when a stranger walked by. “I have nothing to give you,” the stranger said. Then he asked: “What’s that you are sitting on?” 

“Nothing,” the beggar replied. “Just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember.”

“Ever looked inside?” the stranger asked. 

“No,” said the beggar. “What’s the point? There’s nothing in there.”

“Have a look inside,” insisted the stranger. The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold. 

What I got from this story is one of Tolle’s key messages: What we need is right in front of us. Tolle says he himself struggled with paralyzing anxiety until he was about 30 years old. Realizing the present moment is all there is helped him. “We have enough, right here, right now,” he writes. 

Author Ryan Holiday tells a different story with the same message. He recently posted it on Instagram, about Kurt Vonnegut (author of Slaughterhouse Five) and Joseph Heller (author of Catch-22). They attend a party at a billionaire's house, and Vonnegut teases Heller: 

Vonnegut: “This billionaire, whose house we’re at, he made more money this week than your book will make in its entire life.”

Heller: “But I have something that he doesn’t have.”

Vonnegut: “What’s that?”

Heller: “I have some idea of what enough is.”

My mom recently told me about a friend who has stopped going to malls, and we got talking about how all a mall really does is make you feel like you need more material things to be happier. In the past few weeks, I've been making an effort (it’s not always easy) not to spend money on material things. Books, the occasional meal at a good restaurant, gas and groceries are all fair game. Many of don’t need to make more impulse purchases to be happier or more at peace. To be happier, we don’t need a better car, new clothes, a bigger house/apartment or a higher-paying job.

As Tolle and Holiday point out, none of it really matters. Life is too short to waste our time searching for things that might not make us fulfilled. We have enough right now, today. By having an idea of what enough is, we can appreciate the moment in front of us.

One question: How do you find inner peace?

Departing thought: "We have enough, right here, right now." -- Eckhart Tolle

Be joyful and celebrate your gifts,

Matthew