I'm not saying that as some kind of I've-had-it declaration with an exclamation point at the end. I mean it as a simple statement: "When we have enough it is enough."
At what point in our history did we start getting the idea that it's not enough to have enough? That we must have more? I can remember reading some kind of self-help book or article back in the 80's and it advised emphatically "never be content". Really? I thought that's what we all wanted to ultimately achieve - peace and contentment. But no. Apparently it became the new sin of the 'me' generation to be content. You must climb higher, achieve more, accumulate more wealth, power, and stuff. I was still young and impressionable, and naively presumed that people who wrote books and conducted seminars must know what they're talking about, so I believed it. And it made me unhappy. Because I didn't have big goals and ambitions that I could write down and tape to my bathroom mirror and check off one by one. Not the kind they were talking about anyway.
Now years later I find out that this way of thinking ultimately made most everybody unhappy. Because they did buy into it. After all, when you want more, you will always want more and you will never have enough, and you will never have any peace. And I guess that was the problem. At some point someone decided that 'peace' is not a good enough goal. It became the norm to believe that "the one who dies with the most toys wins".
The term "American Dream" was coined in the 1930's when people's hopes were for a better life. It was based on the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence; the inalienable right of everyone to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". It came to represent the dream of owning your own home (possibly with a white picket fence) and the sense of safety and security that accompanied it.
When did that simple dream become the grossly bloated version that has dominated recent history? When did we start buying into the propaganda that we must trade up, move up, have a bigger home, and much MUCH bigger bank accounts? People thought those things would bring them happiness. But it's just the opposite. Unhappiness and unrest rule the day. The American Dream run amuck is evidenced by the sorry state we find ourselves in right now.
Enough should be enough.
But as usual, God works in mysterious ways. I won't go so far as to say that foreclosures and bankruptcies are blessings. That would be an insult to people in pain. But running parallel to those sad tales are stories of families spending more time together around the dining room table. People are re-evaluating what's truly important. An up-tick in volunteerism is emerging. A lot of people are beginning to understand the folly of 'more is better'. Folks are scaling back and trimming away the unnecessary clutter we've stupidly striven for to reveal the lean essence of what is good and lovely.
I pray for a 'renewing of our minds' and a turning back from the unhealthy teachings of the Book of More. A healthy life begins with our minds - our belief system. I pray we may all return to Truth. I pray we may all realize that 'abundance' has little to do with money and belongings, and everything to do with our state of mind.
Joy, peace, love and faith.
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