Enoughness

When I was a kid growing up, I thought I wasn’t pretty enough.

Nor was I quite smart enough.

And I definitely wasn’t good enough at sports.

When it came to music, I was pretty good at piano and then pretty good at bass but maybe not quite good enough to achieve the success I dreamed of.

NOT ENOUGHNESS

It’s all around us.

Every time you open up a magazine you’re confronted with whether you look good enough, your house is perfect enough, and the biggie… whether or not you have enough money.

Oh, what? Did I hit a sore spot with you there?

Yeah. This is a common disease here in the First World.

We have more leisure time and more money than any other generation in history and yet… our malaise grows more intense.

What’s a well-intentioned First Worlder to do?

QUESTION EVERYTHING

Growing up in the 70’s, I was taught the basic Food Pyramid.

You eat this much meat, this much dairy, some fruit and veg and a few grains and boom, you’re healthy.

Then, when I got to my thirties, I knew something was wrong. I started reading books that questioned that basic premise around the Food Pyramid and boy, oh boy am I glad I did.

Now I eat a mostly vegan lifestyle and managed to turn around all sorts of illnesses that were beginning to ‘happen to me’. Like arthritis. Mood swings. And more.

But this isn’t actually a post about what I eat. As much as I could go on and on about the importance of consuming dark leafy greens every single fucking day.

(And yeah, if you want to enact change in your life, take a look at your REAL nutrition.)

The point is… I QUESTIONED what I had been told. 

That’s the thing. We’re TOLD we’re not this or not that. By magazines. By some dude wearing a suit like in Mad Men who wants to keep his job so he plants his fat ass in a chair and sells fear.

F.E.A.R. – False Evidence Appearing Real. 

Or my absolute fav: Fuck Everything And Run.

Yeah. The ‘not enoughness’ disease that permeates so many people today is founded, grounded and rolled up in an avalanche of fear.

When you’re swimming in ‘not enoughness’ it’s hard to find the shoreline.

Here’s a row boat of questioning…

Question if it’s true.

It goes something like this.
“I’m so screwed!!! I’m broke!!!!”
“Wait! Am I actually broke?”

Chances are you have food to eat, a roof over your head and you have some way to keep creating income. Even if you don’t have a job at this moment, if you have possibilities.

You’re not broke.

OR, “I’m soooo fat. I mean. Look at me. Ugh.”
“Am I really fat? Maybe I have more fat on my body than I’d like but I’m me. I can’t BE fat. Fat is just a thing. It’s a made up version of what’s considered beautiful in our society. I’m actually beautiful.”

I know that can be a long stretch psychologically. But go with it! The point is… when you cave into those preconceived ideas of beauty, wealth and success, you’re making it so much worse for yourself and sinking into the bottomless snake pit of comparisons.

THE TRUTH

The truth is always a matter of perception.

I love going to the beach. But a friend of mine was on a beach in his homeland as a child and suddenly bombs were dropped all around him. It took him nearly 35 years to get over his hatred of the beach no matter how ‘beautiful’ it looked. (He did finally confront this fear and now likes the beach.)

My point is… it’s how you PERCEIVE the situation that allows you to then move on and perceive possibility.

Open your eyes.
Question the negative thoughts in your head and heart.
Shift into possibility instead.

Because… You. Are. Enough.