The Purpose of Life IV - Is Enough...Good Enough?

What is Enough?
Why is it called Enough?
How to know it is Enough?
How much is Enough?
...

It is of no wonder that as a seeker, I must ask the inevitable questions above. Otherwise, it is tiring to keep on wanting for more. Just like drinking sea water - slowly dying of thirst...

I must admit, somehow I have never felt of having enough...I always want for more...

More money...
More friends...
More excitement...
More control...
More colors of life...
More ...

I also know enough to know that having more money is not enough, having more friends is not enough, having more excitement is not enough. Yet I also know that not having enough money is terrifying, not having enough friends is deadening and not having enough excitement is...guess what...boring...

(selah)

I like to let my mind wander...

At first I put myself as a rich and powerful man, having the authority that moves the wind and clouds...I feel cool, happy, satiated, afraid, tired...tormented...

Then I put myself as a pauper, being spat on, kicked at, looked down upon...I feel terrible, humiliated, afraid, tired...tormented...

Then I wake up...coming back to reality...that I am neither one of them...

It is definitely not fun to be rich and powerful, being surrounded by suckers who only want what I have and not who I really am. Day after day I must be wary of the people around me and guard my possessions with all vigilance because I am afraid to lose all the objects of my desires. Thus I feel scared, tired and tormented...

Neither it is pleasant to be poor and helpless, being unwanted and considered as the scum of the society (believe me, I know what I am talking about - I live in China where beggars are everywhere even in the trains). And thus I also fell scared, tired and tormented... This, I believe...needs no lengthy explanation...

Hence, I do not wish to be either one...since in the end...I still feel scared, tired and tormented...

Somehow I believe that somewhere between the two extremes is the "sweet spot" of life. Not too rich, not too poor, just enough...good enough...

Hey but, Good is the enemy of the Best...Average is the enemy of the Great...thus some people say... Question - How does one know what is best? How does one compare it with what is good? What is the standard? What is best for one may not be good enough to another. And what is considered best at a point in time may not be that good in retrospect. Hence, to me this statement sounds ridiculous, impractical and only serve as an "ear-candy"...

There is a saying in Chinese that translates roughly to "Family fortune may not last for more than three generations...". I have seen and learned that the first generation built it, the second generation squandered it and the third generation missed it (not to mention fourth...)

(selah)

Man: God?
God: Yes?
Man: Do You own the whole earth?
God: Uh-huh?
Man: If You really own the whole earth, why can't You give Your people what they want when they ask - just like my uncles and aunts to their children?
God: That is because I do not wish to destroy My people...
Man: ...

(selah)

I guess the point is not how much we can get...but it is how much we can manage without destroying ourselves...without finally being scared...tired...tormented...dead...

After all...one only cries out for more - when whatever one has...cannot achieve the desired objectives...So the question now is not about whether or not it is enough anymore, but are the objectives that one has - justifiable?

Sigh...

After all...maybe having enough...is good enough...

...give us today...our daily bread...
...so that there might be...
...more of You and less of me...