Weekend Meditation: Enough

Enough to eat, enough to give some away, enough to relax a little. Enough to throw some away. Enough to forget about it. Enough to share. Enough to keep it going. Enough to get distracted. Enough to put some aside for later. Enough to pick and choose. Enough to complain. Enough to roll around in it. Enough to scatter the seeds.

Enough to make it an abstraction. Enough to experiment. Enough to obsess. Enough to pretend there isn’t really enough. Enough to make a mistake or two. Enough to let some of it spoil. Enough to be creative. Enough to strain the broth and discard the solids. Enough to pass the test. Enough to contemplate the absurd. Enough to be satisfied. Enough to guard against fear. Enough to fill a book. Enough to notice there's enough. Enough to stay alive. Enough to be generous. Enough to discover joy. Enough to eat.

Knowing how much is enough is a very useful thing in cooking and in life. What do you think? Do you have a handle on this question? How much is enough?

(Image: Dana)

Comments (5)

you can never learn enough.

Oh honey, do we ever really know when or what is enough? If we could, would it really make a difference? Sometimes I think it is better to not have enough, because it sends you searching for ways to be satisfied with what you have. Where if you have enough and know it I at least get lazy.

Not having enough beats the pants off having too much. I think when you have too much, you take everything for granted. Not having essentials can wear you down, but having just enough makes you appreciate what you have. God, was that gibberish? I hope not.

Enough, to this point, has been far, far too much.
That's how we got into this predicament.

Enough is two cars when you only need one; two televisions when you only need one; two refrigerators (maybe three) when you only need one; two bottles of wine when you only need one; three courses when you only need one; twelve cleaning products when you only need one; twenty seven purses when you only need one; in-car video screens, when you only need none; two bowls of chili when you only need one; two bags of chips when you only need one.

Enough is relative; what's enough for us isn't enough for Bernie Madoff. Clearly.

Initially it sounded extremely corny (and frankly a little pompous), but in chemical dependency treatment I learned to say that "I am enough." It holds a lot of truth as I grow older, if I'm able to say it. Time goes by and it sounds a lot less corny than it used to.