I have this friend who is just awesome. She's a great mother and an amazing teacher. She's healthy. She oozes creatvity. She's close to her family. She has — and really fosters— this wonderful community. She's grounded and spiritual and musical and beautiful. She's one of those people I admire for the life she has created.
In an exchange of messages today, this friend said to me that she's lived a lot of her life with the feeling of "not enough." Not a good enough mom. Not earning enough. Not accomplishing enough.
Insert jaw-dropping here.
I've been thinking of that exchange all day. Certainly I know my own version of these messages all too well. If I earn enough money. If I am loving enough. If I eat healthfully enough. If I am generous enough. There are dozens of those "If I ____ enough, then ____" statements that seem so believable when I'm not paying attention.
So this stuff has been on my mind anyway today. And then, just a little while ago, I reading responses to an email class I'm participating in which is being led by my teacher, Cheri Huber. And by gum, wouldn't you know it that a great percentage of folks responding to this particular class talked about internal messages of "not enough." Not being a good enough parent. Not earning enough money. Not being organized enough. Not being accomplished enough. Not being lovable enough.
What's up with this? Here we are, a bunch of human beings doing the very best we can and we've got these internal Squawky-Polly voices (my son made that up; isn't it great?!) jammering away with all this "not enough" nonsense.
So I'm here to tell you (and me!) that enough is enough. (Hee hee. That was unintended. A little joke dropped in by life!)
Yep. Enough is enough. Please please please let's all pinky promise one another that any time that ole Squawky-Polly in our heads starts up with any kind of "not good enough," we'll stop and retort: "Am too!"
Because seriously, aren't we really all absolutely positively ENOUGH? If there were no standards, no bars, no imaginary Joneses-to-keep-up-with, we'd just be happily going about our days doing the best we can. That is definitely enough.
(By the way, ole Squawky-Polly is saying that this post is not good enough. That it needs more concrete images. More zest. More je-ne-sais-quois. But you know what? I'm gonna practice what I preach. Right here. Right now. This/it/me/I'm … enough!)