INDIGENOUS TRIBES such as the Aetas have a developed sense of what is enough. Anthropologists cite them for understanding the true meaning of natural conservation. The fruits on trees along the way in their tribal home near the volcano are seen as there for all to share. If there is an abundance of produce, the Aeta does not pick any more than what he can personally consume for one meal. He will leave the rest for others who will pass the same way. He does not consider getting more than what he can eat, either to sell or to hoard for the following day. What he takes is just enough for himself, and taking more than that is considered a violation of nature.
In our 鈥渏ust in case鈥 mentality, the concept of what is enough can become vague. Do you just take enough toilet paper at the office or mall to meet your immediate needs? Or do you roll up a bundle to take away, in case you need it afterwards? What is enough?
One rule for keeping fit and healthy requires one to limit food intake. This can mean counting calories and fat content to determine that what gets into the system is only what is needed. This dietary meaning of 鈥渆nough鈥 can vary with individuals. One may consider it enough to eat just to still the hunger pangs. (One must get up from the dining table still feeling a bit hungry.) A more generous definition may set the limit higher to when the belly is about to burst and consider a proper meal anything he can carry on a plate without needing assistance 鈥 waiter can you please carry the second plate for me.
Whether it is food, wealth, or status, 鈥渆nough鈥 is often a personally variable concept. The frontier of contentment and well-being can be a moving target. Thus, childhood ambitions like having a family, owning a house that is debt-free, sending the kids to a good school, and having a healthy bank account for retirement start to be questioned once they are achieved. Does additional wealth move the needle to what is considered enough?
The Latin word for this adjective or adverb, which means adequate for one鈥檚 wants and needs, is satis, the root word for satisfaction.
When 鈥渆nough鈥 becomes a moving goal, it can lead to frustration. (It鈥檚 no longer good enough for me.) This sense of dissatisfaction can also be a motivational tool. The feeling of not having enough is triggered by envy, comparing one鈥檚 lot with a more successful peer. Having 10 million bucks in the bank may be a basis for feeling secure and happy enough, until one meets a former classmate who has 20. Comparison may then determine what is enough. And as Soren Kierkegaard puts it, 鈥淐omparisons are odious.鈥 (Or they should be.)
It is not only to blessings or wealth where the idea of limits applies. Violence, corruption, and the abuse of power can breach what is tolerable enough. Then 鈥渢oo much鈥 becomes for the victims and former bystanders no longer acceptable. 鈥淓nough鈥 can be a battle cry for change 鈥 we can鈥檛 take any more.
Stresses arise from a misplaced understanding of what is enough. Removing limits to what can be achieved can put one in a perpetual state of discontent. It is true that reasonable men accept things as they are. Perhaps then, only unreasonable men can effect change because they don鈥檛 accept the status quo as enough.
There is a Latin saying, 鈥verbum sat sapienti est,鈥 or 鈥渁 word to the wise is enough.鈥 There is no need to elaborate or explain too much when a word is enough. To soulmates too, it is enough to communicate with body language, maybe a raised eyebrow (don鈥檛 go there) or a smile (keep doing what you鈥檙e doing). The small clues are enough.
Retirement is an application of the idea of enough. The retiree, no matter his age, decides he has had enough of the routine and stress of working to decide to do something else like solving the world鈥檚 problems with friends.
But what is 鈥渆nough鈥 for him to retire on? How much money does he really need?
It is his eulogy that will decide this 鈥 yes, he has lived long enough to go the distance.
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
