Enough

Say this word silently to yourself, "enough". Pause.  Listen to what arises in you when saying this word.

I've been asking my students to try this in class this past week. I say the word "enough" and we sit. I then ask what popped up? It's been an interesting discovery of how just one word can trigger quite different responses. Here's a summary of what people shared:

I am not enough.

I am enough.

Enough! With a "stop" hand gesture.

Enough technology, news and screen time.

Enough news about politics.

I have enough, I am content.

Enough out-of-town visitors!

Enough joy.

Enough negative talk!

It seemed to swing between a feeling of recognizing abundance to a state of not having or being enough. When this theme came to me it was more from the perspective of lacking and from self-doubt. Like an invisible curtain that stops us from doing something that might be on the periphery of consciousness. I'd love to do this but I don't have enough ________ (time, money, resources, knowledge, skills etc). And often when we feel as though something is lacking, we begin to look outside of ourselves for answers. We may find ourselves stockpiling material goods, taking numerous self-help courses, or holding onto relationships that no longer bring us joy. In Buddhism, a basic tenet is that our attachments will bring us suffering. As Imam Ali said, "Detachment from worldly desires is not that you should own nothing, but that nothing should own you."

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the final Yama on the eight-faceted path is Aparigraha, often translated as non-grasping, non-possessiveness or non-attachment. Similar to Buddhist thought, when we cling to things, material or otherwise, we halt our own connection to the deeper meaning of our lives. So part of the process is recognizing of what we can let go, whether it be a thought, an action or connection to something else.

An interesting intersection happened this week with the occurrence of the International Day of Women. It got me thinking about strong and determined women that I have had in my life and one, in particular, stood out. I met her in 2013 in New Delhi, India on the Bare Witness Tour as part of the Global Seva Challenge for Off the Mat, Into the World. Ruchira Gupta, a social worker, founded an organization that not only was rescuing girls from being trafficked but was working on creating legislation on a national/political level to alter the punishment for those who trafficked women and girls. This woman personified fierce compassion in action. It was as though she said, "Enough! Enough violence against women and girls" and upon that recognition took action to actually do something to radically shift it.

My thought of the week is to recognize how we responded to the word "enough", to witness what rose up within us and then to ask the question, "What can I do with this?". So if the feeling of having abundance in your life arose, then perhaps the next thing is the practice of gratitude. If feeling as though you're not enough was present, then working on an affirming statement such as "I am enough" is the next supportive step. If you've had enough TV, news, politics, internet or social media, it would make sense to give yourself a time-out from technology. Sometimes this process is a recognition of what's happening and letting go-remembering that who you are and what you have is enough.

I know that this is personal journey. What is enough for me may not be enough for the next person, yet it's the recognition of what that is for you that matters. Since opening my own yoga studio I have been drawn to listening more to podcasts around minimalism and slow living. It's as though I'm reminding myself that abundance will flow into the studio in so many ways if I have gratitude for all that does come my way. 

I've gotten better at saying this to myself, as in the past my "thing" was I felt I didn't know enough. It took many years to finally rest in a place where I can say "I know enough" and use my continued studying as a way to simply deepen that well of knowledge. And for that, I am deeply thankful every day.

I am enough, I have enough and I know enough. Now I can let go of needing things to be different. And as my teacher, Judith Hanson Lasater said, "We can remember that we were actually whole in the first place."