REFLECTION:  A friend and colleague recently downsized from her five bedroom, three story family home into a more compact two bedroom condo. As challenging as it was to dispense with her stuff, she reports feeling much lighter on every front.

I’ve always been an advocate and practitioner of uncluttering. Still, it seems to be a fact of modern life that stuff has an insidious way of accumulating around us when we aren’t paying close enough attention. 

My friend’s experience and a couple of open days have prompted me to do some further digging and dejunking around my own office. With seven boxes of books donated and six running feet of paper files turfed – so far – I’m only part way through this round of the process.

I’ve also been inspired by a book I’m reading entitled ‘Enough – Breaking Free From the World of More’.  The author’s main premise goes something like this: Many of us already have more of everything than we could ever use, enjoy or afford. That still doesn’t stop us from striving for more. That ceaseless striving is leaving us sick, tired, overweight, angry and indebted. He goes on to advise the reader to shift focus from acquiring to cultivating a sense of enough and developing the ability to bask in the abundance around us.

I, for one, am basking this week in the glow of open space on my bookshelves. I’m delighted that I do not need to go out and buy another filing cabinet, nor find a place to put it.

ACTION:Post the word  ‘enough’ with a question mark on the billboard of your mind. If it helps, jot it down on a couple of sticki notes. Strategically place them where they will catch your eye as you move through your day.

If you prefer something a little more esoteric, use the Latin phrase, quantum sufficit, which is used in medical prescriptions and means ‘as much as is needed or just enough’.

As you make your way through the week , apply the question and the concept to your decisions about information, food, purchases, work and personal tasks, happiness and growth. See if it changes the way you experience and respond to the more..more..more pressures of the world.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  “He who knows he has enough is rich.” – Tao Te Ching (c. 260BC)

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: ‘Enough – Breaking Free From The World Of More’ by John Naish. Published by Hodder & Stoughton, 2008.

READERS WRITE:  In response to last week’s message about ‘Communities of Coincidence’, LM writes: “I absolutely LOVED this article. I really enjoy noticing “who are the people in my neighborhood” (like the old Sesame Street song goes). In recent years I have made more of an effort to find out their names and create a relationship, with people like restaurant owners, cashiers, and waiters, and life is so much richer. Thank you for this lovely insight!”