Enough
Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for the Inspirational word of the week. (Remember, each week I pick a word that will inspire me to write. I thought of it few moments ago and only have 2 hours to write about it before I need to go clean house and put dinner together. That’s why I call this blog Current Inspiration!)
Enough: (adjective) adequate for the want or need. (pronoun) an adequate quantity (adverb) to a degree that satisfies a purpose.
I was chatting with my Dad on the phone last night and he asked me how that “thing in Ortonville” was going. (Of course, he was referring to the Beets, Beats & Eats farmers market that I help put together and am a vendor at, but he couldn’t remember the goofy name of it!) So I told him that I bring in 2 of my burlap art projects (they’re delicate, so I only bring in two at a time in order to keep them from getting ruined), my Tibetan prayer flags and my massage chair. He was tickled, and not surprised to hear that I make the bulk of my money from the massage chair. This is the man that I worked on regularly as a child. I remember spending as long as an hour every day massaging his lower back because of the pain caused from arthritis. My Mom has a torn tendon in her shoulder from a car accident, so between the two of them, I developed into a very strong masseuse with a lot of stamina. My Dad used to say that my hands were my dowry! 
He asked if I do the massage outside of the market and I told him that I usually don’t. “The biggest reason I do the massage is because I know I can make people feel better. Even if it’s only for 5 minutes. If I had to do it during the week, and it got in the way of something else I really want to do, like play a game with my son, or take a boat ride with my husband, I’d feel resentful, and then I wouldn’t give a good massage. This way, the people getting the massage really do feel better, and I’m happy knowing I’ve done some good. That’s enough for me.”
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On Monday, I listened to an on-line writers workshop class with Jen Louden. She talked about setting Conditions of Enough. While unlimited possibilities seems like the best way to get what you want, ultimately what happens is that we don’t know how to define the beginning or the end of what we’re working on. This can lead to frustration and self-abuse because we end up over-working ourselves and getting angry that we didn’t accomplish everything! (Listening to this part made my hair stand on end because I recognized this in myself. As a classic work-aholic, I been known to work myself into a frenzy, only to be disappointed that the work itself (like laundry and dishes) is never done. AAAACCCKKK)
By setting our Conditions of Enough ahead of time, we give ourselves stepping stones that show us how to get to where we’re going! BRILLIANT!!! When we set time limits, borders and realistic goals on our energy, we get a proper measure of how much we’ve really accomplished.
Then she said “It’s“important to declare to yourself, (out loud even) “I’m satisfied” even if you don’t feel it! By declaring your satisfaction, you define the end of the project your working on.”
I’m so incredibly happy to have listened to Jen’s words of wisdom, my friendly blog reader. I’m relieved knowing that I’m not the only person who’s done this to herself! I’m even more happy to know how to remedy the situation! Although I have a tendency to fight against “rules” and “structure” I love the idea of stepping stones! 
My wonderful son and his friend are asking me to play Monopoly with them, so I’m going to declare this blog post finished and “I’m satisfied with how it’s turned out“.
That’s good enough for me!
I wish you a wonderful week, my friendly blog reader!
xoxo
Pam
