How Do You Experience “Enough”?

Dr. Kimberly Hindman is a Naturopathic Physician and Licensed Acupuncturist and really loves her work. In a recent interview, I asked her what she experiences now that she’s doing what she loves. Her answer intrigued me:

There is enough. From a very practical perspective, there are enough patients for all of us. There are enough people. There is enough time. I have enough resources.

This is what I try to help people realize in their own lives: there is enough time. Maybe they need to organize their time, but there is enough. When you let go of that frazzled, ‘there isn’t enough’ feeling, oftentimes people find that they work more efficiently.

When there is enough, people tend to breathe. I see it with patients and I do it myself as well. I breathe differently. I actually inhale fully all the way in and let my lungs really fill up because there is enough air. I can take all the air I need for myself because there really is enough for me and for everyone else. And then I can let it go. I don’t have to hold onto it, thinking ‘Well I don’t know… If there’s not enough, maybe I’m not going to get more. I’ll hold onto this.’

Breathing has a huge impact on us physically. It changes the signals in our nervous system. It changes our hormone balance and actually puts us into a more restful, neurological state. This helps people think more clearly, because they’re able to listen better and communicate better, to pay more attention. They remember things better. It helps people to prioritize better. When they are in that place they can really check in with themselves and ask ‘Do I really need to do this? No. It’s filler. It’s extra stuff. But that? That I do need to do and it is important to me.’

How do you remember there is enough?

I check in with myself every so often and ask ‘Am I breathing?’ You can easily shift that state just by changing the way you’re breathing. Oftentimes I’ll find that if the thought pops into my head, ‘Oh I need to check,’ it’s because I’ve forgotten. Even if I’m sitting in front of a computer, I ask ‘Are you breathing?’

I set timers so I can take a 5 minute break. The work will not explode if I take two minutes, just close my eyes or walk around the office and just breathe. And I usually come back to whatever it is with a much clearer mind, a fresher perspective and be able to keep going.

I spend time thinking about the things that are the blessings in my life.

I take time for myself. Sometimes it is a very short amount of time. But it’s the intention. I’m going to take this 5 minutes. I would love an hour and a half, but I’m not going to get it, so I’m going to take this 5 minutes and this is for me. And I’m just going to go outside… I’m going to do something that’s just for me. It may just be just sitting quietly and just reminding myself of all the really good things that are in my life right now. That may be all I can do right now for today. And that’s just fine.

I simplify my life. And, as a result, I actually do have more time and energy because I’m not frittering it away on things that really aren’t important to me. Some of that comes down to knowing what my individual priorities are. What are the things that are important to me? Where do I want to spend my time and my focus?

Then my ‘to do’ list is smaller and the things on it are really important to me, so I get all those things done. And so Okay, maybe there are a few things that would be sort of nice to do that I’ll do tomorrow. But for the most part, the big things got done. It’s the end of the day and I feel like I have accomplished things. And I’ve accomplished things that are important, that mean something to me.

So What Does Sufficiency Look Like?

In The Soul of Money, Lynne Twist tells story after story of individuals, groups, even companies discovering the freeing effects of sufficiency. Through these stories, several ideas emerge. One of them is…

What is Already There
What happens when we let go of chasing after “more” and just list the things we already have?

• What relationships do we already have?
• What talents and skills do we already have?
• We all have 1440 minutes in a day. How do we spend this time?
• What money have we already saved?
• What things do we already own?

What happens when we take a moment to really appreciate the things we already have?

• Who are the people in our lives we really value? What is it about them that makes them so special?
• What are the things we really like about ourselves? What are our greatest talents?
• Of the things we spend time on, which are the ones we really enjoy?
• Of all the checks we’ve written and purchases we’ve made, which have been the most satisfying?
• What do we like most about our home? Is it the location? The colors? The neighbors? The landscaping? What do we really enjoy about our home?

As we enjoy what we already have, what emerges?

• Do we discover old friends we’d like to contact again? Think of new ones we’d like to know better?
• Do we remember old interests we’d like to pursue again? Unearth hidden talents we didn’t realize were talents?
• Do we find hidden pockets of time that we can use in new ways?
• Do we realize that money is energy, that it takes on the meaning we give it?
• Do we experience peacefulness in the place we live and the things we own?

What happens when we appreciate what is already there?

The Myth of Scarcity

What?! Scarcity a myth? Everyone knows our resources are dwindling. There is not enough and you’d better get your piece before someone else does.

But suppose for a moment that there is enough for everyone. Enough not just to survive, but to really thrive. This is the invitation Lynne Twist offers in The Soul of Money. She suggests that when we stop racing to get more and more and really appreciate what we already have, we find the creative energy to bring forth what we need.

The myth of scarcity. How often do we say to ourselves “there is not enough”? Not enough money, not enough time, not enough jobs, not enough resources. So we have to work hard to get more before it runs out. More money, a newer car, a bigger house, a bigger paycheck. As Lynne Twist points out, because these attitudes are so pervasive in our society, we just assume that's the way it is and there's not really anything we can do about it.

But Lynne tells stories of more and more people discovering that this simply isn't true. By stepping back and letting go of the idea of scarcity, people are starting to discover the wealth they do have. All kinds of wealth - inner resources, knowledge, skills, relationships, connections. I remember watching an interview of an older African American woman in the aftermath of Katrina. There, amid all the stories of people who had lost everything, she was a voice of reassurance and determination: “You are still alive. You have a mind and two hands and together we can rebuild.”

Sufficiency. Lynne suggests “if we look around us and within ourselves, we will find what we need. There is always enough.”

Think about it. If we know in our hearts there is enough--enough for everyone—how would our decisions be different?

• Would we breathe a sigh of relief?
• How would we steward and develop our time, treasure and talent?
• What would we invest these resources in?
• What kind of a world would we build for our children? For everyone’s children?
• What would our businesses look like?
• Would we begin to see that we actually can make a difference?

If we believe there is enough…