What is Enough?

I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough? — Vincent Van Gogh

We live in a time of great material abundance. But the haves and the have nots stand on opposite sides of a deep chasm of inequality. Many people focus on the holes in their lives because they internalize commercial media’s portrayals of glittering lifestyles which impoverish their spirits. Snobbish mass media intentionally affects contempt for the seemingly threadbare fabric of day-to-day life in order to push products and relentlessly fuel consumption. But money won’t nourish the soul. What is enough? There are paths which lead away this hurtful social separation and towards a unity of spirit. Nature, Art and Poetry offer us transcendent realms to explore far beyond the reach of base consumerism.

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn. — John Muir

We, my distant cousins, are all children of this earth. Nurtured by mother nature, our common ancestors strode together across vast primeval swathes of grasslands and forests. Crossing mountains and fording rivers, our common grandparents caught the scent of pure, raw abundance. By reading the great book of nature, physically fragile but mentally agile early humans prospered. Nature, the great creator/destroyer, gently raised humanity’s eyes to the horizon and urged their feet to follow. Those primal trails course through our veins like life-giving currents back to the cosmic ocean from which we came.

What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence. — Claude Monet

While there is no agreed upon definition of art, it calls to our souls. Art is the human spirit made manifest. The desire to create lies within us all. Paint, pen and paper capture the will-o-the-wisps of the imagination in order to share our dreams with one another. Whether lofty music or an improvised whistle, art fills the soul with grandeur. From imaginative re-purposing to great masterworks, creativity accompanies our daily lives like a guardian against dark oblivion.

He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life. — George Sand

Condensates of whispers / Flow through the caverns of the mind / Lyrical soul-steps cross the void / Track the prismatic light of infinite color / Share the heaven within / Sow common ground / With the seeds of a brighter future

Consider the beauty of your life. Appreciate those around you. Know that you do not need expensive things to thrive. Live freely without accumulated piles of unnecessary things. Minimize greed and envy. Ignore the so-called “influencers” pushing their commercially sponsored crap. Gaze instead upon our marvelous real world filled with manifested wonder.