Rainy Day Healing

Making My Peace … with having plenty of enough

How do I know when I have plenty? Is having plenty the same as having enough?

One of the philosophies I live by is to reject greed. But one thing I forgot to define is when to determine when I have plenty or when I have enough.

The Collins Dictionary defines the quantifier plenty as “a large amount” and indicates that “there is enough of something, or more than you need.” It is synonymous with “abundance, wealth, luxury, and prosperity.”

The Cambridge Dictionary defines enough to be “as much as necessary; in the amount or to the degree needed.”

Often when I work in rural and remote communities in non-Western countries, and I ask how much the community has – resources, rainfall, happiness, peace, health, or whatever – people answer “plenty.” It means that they are not asking for more.

In one job across two communities in two countries, I experienced an interesting perspective of having enough, or not. In the wealthier country, a community that received donor funding asked for more, whereas in the poorer country, a community that received less did not ask for more but expressed more gratitude. In the wealthier community, I was asked to provide food, whereas in the poorer country, I was offered food.

For me, whenever I think I don’t have plenty of anything, I realise that there is always enough, no matter how much I have. It is my responsibility to create a life where I have plenty around me – when I no longer need or want more. It’s a fine balance sometimes, but often, the more I am grateful, the more I am offered what I need.

Making my peace with having plenty of enough, I learned the following:

• Don’t underestimate what you have
• Outer conditions provide that which the inner spirit needs
• Find plenty within you
• Generate your own definition of plenty
• Express gratitude for what you have
• There is always enough
• As you give to others, the more plentiful you feel

Martina Nicolls: Rainy Day Healing – MAKING MY PEACE