When Enough is Enough…
I’ve had it! Enough is enough! Many of us have said this to ourselves at some points during our lives when we’ve realized something needs to change or we’ve come to a breaking point. Maybe it’s an incessant negative thought, perhaps a way of being in our life that no longer serves us, or time to remove a person’s energy from our life… “Enough is enough!”
Recently, I realized a moment where I let myself lose the power I know I have within me. I screamed out, “Enough is enough!” It’s a transformational energy when said out loud with conviction.
In reading this 9th verse of the Tao, we’re talking about “Living in Humility”, knowing when to stop, knowing when we’ve reached a point of more is less. “Enough is enough” comes into play here as well, as we discuss living in ego vs living in humility. Ego always wants more, more more… more success, more money, more things, more more more. Here we talk more about the breaking point from this view.
How can we live more in humility and less in ego and know when to say enough is enough?
Especially in society today, it seems more and more things are constantly being created that are actually slowing us down in the long run. As a society, perhaps we need to take a look at where we can say enough is enough, and find alternatives.
When enough is enough Example #1 – Traffic
“we can witness the results of overproduction in the gridlock on most highways: It now takes longer to go from one side of London to the other than it did before the invention of the automobile!” ~ Wayne Dyer
Yet, new highways are being built all over the place. Here in Miami, the roads are constantly being restructured to put more lanes in, because the traffic is true madness!
As more and more property is built here, the traffic gets worse. Enough is enough! Luckily, I can live here very well by getting around easily on my bicycle, and for longer distances, I can take an Uber, and I use the carpool option.
So many people are driving around in cars with just one person, clogging up the roads. I have entertained the thought of having a car here a few times, but in the end, I haven’t, because it’s just way too congested. And yes, many times I do get around faster on my bike than the cars do. I fly right by them!
So, in what ways in society when “enough is enough”, where can we choose an alternative when we see something like this?
When enough is enough Example #2 -Choice overload
– My gosh, Wayne said it!… “choice overload”!
“We also see this principle at work whenever we shop. I call it ‘choice overload’ – pain pills for backaches, menstrual cramps, headaches, joint pains, in the morning or at night, in a capsule or liquid or powder. And this is true whether we’re purchasing toilet paper, orange juice, or anything else.”
Seriously, enough is enough. We are constantly bombarded in the stores, in ads, on social media, on TV, in the newspapers and magazines. I know my brain feels fried when looking at it all (which I avoid as best I can) and then trying to decide which products are the best for me.
I just did this last week in Whole Foods; I stood there for at least 10 minutes looking at different coconut oils, picked one up, thinking this is the one, but oh wait, look at this other one, and this other one, let me see. Reading labels, and then getting stumped. Enough is enough!
This is why when I find the products I like, I tend to stick with them, flying through the store knowing exactly which product brands, etc that I get for whichever items, otherwise I’d be in the grocery store all day!
When enough is enough Example #3 – Over Eating
This is huge, especially here in America, where portions tend to be overly large, where as Wayne mentioned, there is an obesity crisis. This ties into all this ego stuff of “more of something is the cause of your happiness.”
“To keep on filling is not as good as stopping”
– 9th verse Tao Te Ching
Eat, but stop when you’re full.
I know I have moments that I overeat even though I know I’m full, but keep going usually because I want to finish what’s on my plate, or it’s really yummy. If you tend to overeat, try this exercise in Wayne’s “Do the Tao Now”:
“At your next meal, practice portion control by asking yourself after several bites if you’re still famished. If not, stop and wait. If no hunger appears, call it complete. At this one meal you’ll have practiced the last sentence of this verse of the Tao. Retire when the [eating] is done; this is the way of heaven.” (in verse 9, the word ‘eating’ is ‘work’)
And speaking of work, we can overwork because of our ego’s need for more wealth, for success, for the dream life. But how about sometimes being aware of when the work is done. And take a breather and a rest. Otherwise we can burn out, and there I believe we may “sharpen a blade too much and its edge will soon be lost”.
“Come to grips with the radical concept of “enough is enough”! … do your work and step back. Practice humility rather than ostentation and uncontrolled consumption.”
Before closing here, I love this commentary from Wayne:
“Begin to trust in that infinite wisdom that birthed you into this material world. After all, it knew the exact timing of your arrival here. It didn’t say, “If nine months will create such a beautiful baby, I’ll extend the gestation period to five years. Now we’ll have an even more perfect creation!” Nope, the Tao says that nine months is perfect – that’s what you get, and you don’t need any more time.”
Where in your life can you find examples of uncontrolled consumption, whether it’s in society, your work, hoarding, over-buying things, overeating, an intense need for success and/or money?
Over to you. When do you say ‘Enough is Enough’?
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This is week 11 of our Saturday Morning Mastermind study of “Change your thoughts Change your life” by Wayne Dyer
Read Chapter 9 – Living in Humility
Then Meet us here for a LIVE discussion February 27th at 10am EST
Read the verse and chapter 9 of Change Your Thoughts, Change your life then tell us what you think the Tao Te Ching is trying to teach us about living in humility and knowing when enough is enough.
