For the last several years I have been an occasional visitor to another country. I don’t stay nearly as long as I’d like but I often find myself thinking that this other country, The Land of Enough, is the best possible place to live. The people there seem much happier than those here, and I am at my happiest when I’m there, as well. Lately, I’ve been wondering how I can visit more often and whether, someday, I might even become a permanent resident. Strangely, it’s not at all crowded, despite the fact that everyone who lives there speaks so positively about it.
Looking a little deeper I see that many people aren’t able to enter The Land of Enough. A lack of food, shelter or medical care bars them from even spending an hour there. Over half a billion people survive on about two dollars a day, and for them this land is pure fantasy. To blithely suggest they can simply step inside would be borderline cruelty. And there are the three or four billion people so urgently occupied with just making it through each day that it’s rare for them to visit, either. I understand that. I also realize how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to go there at all.
Still, I wonder about those of us who are at least somewhat free from real material want. If you’re reading this you’re probably one of those, as am I. I can’t speak for you, but for me it remains a mystery why I leave that place so quickly—especially since I’m happiest there.
I don’t know for sure but it seems that Melinda French Gates and MacKenzie Scott live there, at least in terms of money. They have enough. Meanwhile, the tech multibillionaires—with their genius IQs and subpar emotional IQs—don’t. I wonder if some of them have even set foot on The Land of Enough.
It’s a complicated place. It’s not all about material things. To become a true citizen you would need to have enough freedom, too. I think Nelson Mandela and Alexei Navalny lived there when they were alive, though those who imprisoned them did not. Closer to home, perhaps Martin Luther King, Jr. was free when he sat behind bars in Birmingham while the sheriff and judge who jailed him were the ones truly imprisoned—unable to even glimpse the place where Martin lived.
It’s not just about freedom. It’s about love and companionship as well. Loneliness doesn’t exist in The Land of Enough, where everyone is aware of their connection to everything that exists. Compassion also, there’s an inexhaustible supply of compassion there.
It all sounds so easy—but it’s not, is it?
There were several great offers waiting for me on my phone this morning—offers for merchandise, for experiences, for opportunities to participate in making the world a better place. I hadn’t known I was missing any of it until I read my feed. I hadn’t even brushed my teeth before I put aside simply sitting and looking at the blue sky and the morning sunlight streaming through my window to answer all the enticing emails waiting for me. And waiting to welcome me back to the Land of More.
This year I’m going to try to disregard as many of the reasons I keep leaving The Land of Enough as I can. I know the planet will breathe a little easier if I succeed—or at least fail a little less often. Maybe I’ll see you there.
Comments are welcome
Beautiful, bountiful, beckoning. I’ll see you there.thanks for the invitation. Namaste, Karen
Looking forward to that! Thanks, Karen
It is not easy, so true, but the effort is heartwarming. The Land of Enough can satisfy our appetites, if we tread lightly.
Very nice. Thank you Dennis. Silence, quiet, being still, gazing out leads one there…oh, until, I need to get going. Mark
So true, Deb. Be well, and I’ll respond to your email later today. Dennis
Yep, you’ve nailed it Mark 🙂 good to hear from you. Dennis
I am almost positive that I won’\’t see that lovely place for the next four years. But you do keep reminding me that it still exists. Please keep doing that.
Beautifully said. I shall try to visit more often. It is not always the Land of More that pulls me away, but seeing those who have no chance to visit the Land of Enough that tugs at my heart and drags me away.
Thank you, Dennis, once again. Beautiful and a place to strive to be one with.
Good to hear from you, dear friend. Hang in there.
Jo, food for thought “The more difficult conditions are the more successful your work, if you remember to work”. G.I.Gurdjieff
As always, dear friend, thank you for reaching out.
Dennis
Much to think on. Thank you for this.
You’re most welcome, Tag. Best wishes.
Ah, beautifully written and wonderful to ponder. Within the Land of Enough is a community whose citizens are teachers and guides who strive for something within the land of Enough.. And that is to be content knowing that all they have is Enough and that Enough is also all they Want. They are humble and few.
Gaea, as always it is good to see your name and read your own thoughts, fellow traveler. Dennis