What is enough?

Yesterday, I started thinking about gratitude in my suburban life. I don't want to get to the end of my life and think that all there was to it was carpools, laundry and the crock pot. But I also know that gratitude is what changes the ordinary into the extraordinary. I shared this quote and pondered the first line. Today, I'd like to explore the second line.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.

It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing.

~Melody Beattie

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.

We live in a world of "buy more" and "want more" and "deserve more." It's so easy to get sucked into what the advertisers want us to believe about consumption and retail therapy.

This past summer, the boys and I spent 12 days in Alaska and Canada. During that time, we visited several historic sites that showed how the original settlers lived. In their one room homes, they had a small bed, a few kitchen items, blankets, and some tools. They made a life for themselves with these things. They didn't have stainless steel refrigerators (I do)...or bookshelves with multiple titles sitting colorfully in a line (I do)...multiple lamps, artwork, comfortable seating, wine rack, framed photos...the list goes on and on. And sometimes, in my moments of self pity as I strive to be more frugal, I think while I'm pouting, "I don't live a life of luxury! It's unfair that I don't have ________ (fill in your latest WANT here)!"

But, if I'm truly honest with myself, in comparison to the pioneer people of the Alaskan and Canadian wilderness (and, in all honesty, most of the people of the world), I DO live in luxury.

Sure, I still have laminate countertops instead of quartz....but I have countertops!

I still have kitchen cabinets I hate because they show every fingerprint...but I have cabinets and plenty of stuff inside them.

I have a kitchen table that's falling apart...but I have a table around which my family gathers for meals.

Today, as I ponder the second line of that quote, I want to look at each and everything that I own, and find a reason to be grateful for its presence in my life. And I can realize that I have so much more than I need for survival. I can also state that I don't need more stuff to be happy. I have so much already and new and better and state of the art won't necessarily make me a happier or more grateful person.

What is "enough" for you?