Enough

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This morning's Yoga session concluded with a poignant mantra. I thought it was so appropriate for the stage of retirement that I now find myself in that I  really have to share it:-

I have enough;

I do enough;

I am enough.

Apt though it is, I concede that I am still battling with: an abundance of items giving rise to far more than is adequate; the intermittent panic that accompanies an unfinished To Do List; the self doubt that spurs me to feel that I should be doing better and achieving more. However, I truly ought to know better by now: enough is enough.

Going forward, I intend to keep repeating those 3 lines to myself. There's something about them that envelops me in an overwhelming feeling of calm. I may not be the best and I may not be excelling in retirement but, breathing deeply and expressing acceptance, "I am enough."

 

 

Comments

Mona McGinnis said…
Such a good mantra. I get caught up in the doing at times. I'm also afflicted with some anxiety that niggles me into believing that I'm not enough, that I don't do enough. And yet when I'm asked, "How are you?" I often reply, "Good enough."
13 August 2021 at 14:03
Caree Risover said…
I guess we all either strive too hard or feel guilty when we don’t, but being able to say it’s enough is not only a release but almost an accolade.
13 August 2021 at 15:43
Marksgran said…
I certainly have enough, not sure I do enough at times and find it hard to believe I am enough but working on it!! x
13 August 2021 at 18:55
Caree Risover said…
Enough! No work is required, unless of course it’s a mantra I’ve taken a fancy to, only to excuse my indolence.
13 August 2021 at 19:55
B. Steele, British Columbia said…
Wise words Caree. Thanks for sharing them. I plan to refer to them from time to time. For much of our lives we are taught to strive. Nobody teaches us how to recognize that we have arrived much less how to relax and celebrate what we have accomplished and who we have become while we navigate who we are becoming. Many of us will just keep right on striving because we have no other way of being - yet. I imagine it will take awhile to unlearn old ways and relearn a new healthier, happier way of approaching life.
13 August 2021 at 20:39
Caree Risover said…
Failing to recognise we have arrived or to celebrate what we have accomplished whilst seeking ever more is a great way to encapsulate what I was trying to say. Thanks for that.
13 August 2021 at 21:17
Treaders said…
I also have more than enough. In fact, it would be wonderful to have a lot less but it seems a pretty thankless task trying to get rid of all that "stuff"! But that is a good mantra to try to live by isn't it!
14 August 2021 at 21:14
RetirementCoffeeShop said…
I do think I have reached the have enough, but struggle with the do enough and am enough. These are great words to think about.
15 August 2021 at 03:05
Caree Risover said…
Sometimes it seems we in the western world are just getting buried under too much stuff but I agree, Treaders, sorting and disposing of it is invariably a job left for tomorrow and then RetirementCoffeeShop I join you in feeling that I’m failing on the doing enough, being enough.
15 August 2021 at 07:05
Bethany @ Happily Loco said…
Wow, I love that! I think I might steal that mantra. ;-)
29 August 2021 at 17:56
Caree Risover said…
Bethany I think we all deserve to use it.
30 August 2021 at 07:44
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