Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday here in the US.
It’s a day for family and friends to gather, all centered around one big meal. Traditionally, the meal consists of turkey and potatoes, stuffing and green beans, and dessert like pumpkin or apple pie. But everyone celebrates a little bit differently.
It’s wonderful—my wife’s favorite meal of the year in fact.
The Thanksgiving Day preparation is an entire routine and ritual that, at times, can look a little hectic. At least it does in our home. There is a lot of work that goes into preparing the meal.
Often, both the women and men are scurrying about cooking and helping. As the kids get older, they might begin to help as well. Lots of cooks in the kitchen.
There are decisions to be made about what goes into the oven at just the right time, where to put things on the counter while they’re waiting, and if the table is getting set just right.
Plus, everyone is hungry the entire time because you’re saving space for the meal.
Everyone eventually sits down and the table is filled with dishes, like a full buffet.
In our family, we pray. And then, you eat.
Immediately, there’s a big rush of controlled chaos—people gathering food and filling their plates.
You grab your turkey and potatoes and stuffing and gravy. You start to wonder if the green beans are ever going to get passed your direction. You notice that the little kids are taking all the bread rolls and you might start to worry if there will be enough once the plate reaches you.
Where did the salt and pepper go? Did I get enough butter? And am I going to have room on this plate for the cranberries?
But eventually, you eat.
And there inevitably comes a point in the meal where you begin to feel full. You’ve eaten enough, and suddenly, you don’t need (or even want) any more food.
Instead, you lean back in your chair, content.
You’ve had enough.
Suddenly, everything changes. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing at the table.
It doesn’t matter that the little ones are taking the last of the rolls. It doesn’t matter where the butter is, or the salt and pepper. It doesn’t matter that your cousin is going back for a third helping of the stuffing, or that someone else just took the last of the dark meat.
None of that matters anymore. You’ve had enough.
Regardless of the options in front of you, regardless of what everyone else is chasing and consuming, you don’t feel the need to do so. It’s a wonderful feeling of contentment.
That is the promise of enough. Once you have attained it, you begin to see everything differently.
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Consider how this feeling of enough might change our lives in other areas:
What if we realized that we already have enough physical possessions?
What would happen if we looked into our closets and fully noticed that we owned enough clothes? Or that our house was big enough? That we had enough decorations, furniture, tools, or cars?
What if we fully believed that we already have enough stuff?
Suddenly, we would begin to see everything around us differently. It wouldn’t matter what other people are chasing or accumulating or buying.
It wouldn’t matter that my neighbor is buying another car, I already have enough.
It wouldn’t matter that there’s a new sale at Kohl’s, I have enough.
It wouldn’t matter that today is Black Friday, I have enough.
It wouldn’t matter that Christmas is coming and someone else might get more gifts than me, I have enough.
And it wouldn’t matter that the magazines tell me my clothes are out of style or the newest tech gadget has more camera pixels than ever before, I have enough.
This is a realization that would change everything about us. We could fully remove ourselves from the consumerism that dominates so many peoples’ lives.
It would free up money, time, space, and energy for the things in life that really matter.
It’s an unbelievably freeing feeling to discover that you already have enough in your life.
—
There are, of course, many people in the world who do not have enough. But even those who do, rarely recognize it.
This is because we live in a world that shouts to us constantly that we don’t have enough. We are being sold more and more every day. They are constantly placing more dishes on the table, convincing us that we haven’t eaten enough yet, encouraging us to war against our neighbors to be the one with the fullest plate of food.
But as Maya Angelou once said, “We need much less than we think we need.”
And once we can look around and realize that we do indeed have enough, our lives begin to change in beautiful ways.
Angie says
Love, love, love this comparison to a Thanksgiving meal! Most everyone should be able to relate to that feeling of “enough!”
Connie says
It is a wonderful thing when you read something as profound as this article and realize that you agree and have started feeling the same way!
Pauline Ince says
Brilliant illustration of the meal Mr Becker. With the help of your wise advice I have completely changed my life from one of having excess possessions . Although I didn’t ever think of myself as materialistic, now I know I was. These days, I actively resist new things coming into my home, telling myself I have enough, and lead a much simpler, happier life . But I have slipped up a little over the last two days buying things on impulse, and am very cross with myself! Old habits die hard! It’s helped me to be more determined though to continue to pursue a minimalist life. Really can’t thank you enough for all your timely, fascinating posts.
Eva says
Words I needed to hear…”You already have enough”…I’ve been on a decluttering journey the whole of 2021 and have come a long way but still not there. My mantra for 2022 will definitely be “You already have enough.”
Thank you!
Lauren says
“You already have enough.” This sentence will become a kind of guiding light for my life just as William Morris’ quote, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” has set the parameters for my home. Lovely, simple, true.
My Thanksgiving dinner became simple for almost the first time in my life since childhood. With COVID and colds, I was left alone for the first time in a long time. I treated it as a special event and bought the delicious turkey pot pie and cranberry relish at Trader Joe’s, made a green salad, steamed an artichoke, and had a slice of apple pie for the holiday dinner. It was surprisingly perfect. (Well, almost; I’ll skip that pie in future and stick with pumpkin.) I had just enough left over to have some on Friday and that “was enough.”
For spending and finances, your article could not have been better timed. I still do look at all the holiday decor sales as it gives me enormous please to see all the pretty things. But I don’t crave them any more because . . . I have enough. I take the pleasure and beauty and admire all of them in the same way I take pleasure and admire the downtown holiday decorations and events, the driving and walking around looking at others’ holiday lights, and the sounds of all the fine orchestral music of the season. But I don’t buy because I have given away what didn’t suit me any more and what is left is what I love. This year, due to new younger cats I do not have a full tree, just three tabletop ones. And what a joy it was to put up only what I have. I may not buy a replacement tree next year because I looked around as I read your article and cemented my feeling that, yes, I have enough for my holidays to be perfect.
Barbara says
Love what you wrote Lauren!!!
Lauren says
Thank you, Barbara! Such a kind compliment. I truly wish the best holidays for you in 2021.
Cally says
I enjoyed the post. It’s so very true.
But In my reality, I’m struggling! The online deals are tempting and I have things in my cart. Just haven’t made the final click!
I admire each of you who have made comments for your strength!
I need gifts for the holidays and i guess if I can save some $, I will hit the click button to buy!
Myra G. Competente says
Love this! Thank you for this article. A feeling of having enough helps me not to feel envious with others who possess more :)
Kaky Long says
Mu Hubby & I traveled 9 hours to see my family for Thanksgiving. On Black Friday, some of my extended family got together for a meal.
We had been home in July & as I looked around the room, I was missing two Uncles. One of whom had passed away unexpectedly in Sept & the other was home battling cancer. They haven’t given him much time to live. Later that day, we were able to see him & I asked myself, “what will change by the next time we are home”.
I realized things really do not matter but people do. I’m glad I spent Black Friday with family instead of buying unnecessary things.
Thank you Joshua for all you do to help us along this journey called life & minimalism.
Grace says
I really appreciated Joshua’s article and the comments!
I was tempted by quite a few “deals” today but I have
learned to think about my credit card debt! Suddenly the
“deals” don’t seem so tempting!!
Jessalynn Jones says
Loved this post Joshua! I really like the comparison to a big meal because we all know what that feels like. Suddenly the hangry is gone and world is glowing with a full happy feel and you don’t want more because you are content. But it does take a moment where you recognize and that is what we need. We need that moment to see how much we have and that we don’t need more just because people are saying we do. We also need to recognize in that moment that what is left can be for someone else. There are so many people in the world that don’t have enough and that in fact suffer from the consumer society we have created. We need to think about how we can help them by simply taking less.