Having Enough (In a Have-It-All World)

This month’s (March) “Having Enough” affirmation:

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary
so that the necessary may speak.”
– Hans Hofmann

Stop. Listen. If I cannot hear clearly, I know to unclutter. My home, menu, schedule, closet, mind. What I need to know about my life’s direction, health and relations is there, buried beneath the excess. The process of simplifying brings me great clarity.

Repeat: I eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may speak.

(By the way, Hans Hofmann was a German abstract expressionist painter and art professor who wrote the book, Search for the Real. I love how his quote refers so aptly to art and life.)

Also, I realize I put last month’s (February) affirmation on my sidebar, but never actually blogged it, so I will repeat it here so it can be cataloged with the others:

“The first health is wealth.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

My health is worth more than any possessions or accolades. If I care for my health, I care for my whole self and my loved ones. If I cherish my health, it continues to give me all I need. If I lose my health, I can set my intentions and actions to recover it. A healthy body, mind and soul are true gifts.

Repeat: I cherish and care for the ultimate wealth of my health.

So, my daughter and I have pretty much gone from one nasty cold to another and into awful stomach flu these past few weeks. And, as most of us know, everything else falls by the wayside when we don’t have our health.

I have thought about this a lot in the context of having enough, and I always come back to it. Health is the most basic need we have. If we have it, so much is possible. If we struggle with it, all of the other “things” so clearly matter less.

Health has always been an issue for me, several nagging, chronic conditions affecting me since childhood. Nothing life-threatening in the immediate sense, but once I got honest with myself, life-altering enough to make some major changes. It’s all connected, of course. Our physical health, our mental health, our relationships, our work.

As my physical health has been compromised here lately, all of the other pieces seem harder to keep going. Now that I am finally feeling un-sick again, I am having to check back in with myself on the commitments I’ve made over the past ten years to keep my body, mind, and soul feeling healthy.

So, here are my reminders:

- Healthy Food (if it grows, eat it)

- Water!

- Joyful Movement

- Rest

- Simplicity!

- Following My Gut (and speaking my truth)

- Attention First to Loved Ones (including myself)

So basic are these, and yet so easy to lose track of sometimes. And, for me, these principles are the key to my good health. I’m going to focus intently on these commitments again in days ahead, and get me and my girl back to our healthy, immune-system-strong selves. It takes work. And it’s OK to falter sometimes and get back on the path.

And, on a related note, let’s just say, health care is one of my very top issues in this current and coming election (have you seen Sicko yet?). Our health, its gift, is the verymost basic “enough” we are granted, and grant ourselves.

That all said, please see the sidebar for this month’s affirmation, to our health!

I’ve gotten excited lately about writing affirmations. 

Affirmation.  “A positive assertion,” as Miriam-Webster defines it. 

This idea to write affirmations got sparked when Christina Katz asked me to write a little column called “Closing Words” for her new Writer Mama zine (link in the works).  The assignment was to end her zine each month with a little affirming thought for her audience of writer moms, using my concept of “Being/Having Enough” as the general theme.

Me, being the nerd I am, started doing my research on the actual form of  affirmations. I bought books of affirmations. I looked up the rules. And I realized that much of what I love to do — from my writing to my career counseling to my conversations with friends — involves the kind of perspective and purpose that affirmations accomplish.

In writing, an affirmation is a short, present-tense statement of empowerment. It’s often accompanied by a quote and/or a musing, and always ends with a statement to repeat (the affirmation). I’m sure you’ve seen them.

I’ve realized my style and my passion about the idea of “Having Enough (In a ‘Have-It-All’ World)” is actually quite well-suited for this form.

So, while my monthly Writer Mama column has not turned out to be quite an official affirmation in form (although it is affirming!), here at Having Enough (In a ‘Have-It-All’ World) I am now going to post a real, official, true-to-form affirmation for you (and for me) every month.

Here’s my first affirmation, for January 2008. (I’ll hereafter post my monthly affirmations on my sidebar as well.)  Please let me know what you think! (If you really like them, maybe I’ll post them more often!)

“To know you have enough is to be rich.”  - Tao Te Ching

Having enough is internal. You can have it right now, at any moment you choose.

It is not in your home, your car, your awards or diplomas, your clothes, your jewelry.  It is not in what you have or don’t have, be they things, jobs, marriages, children, vacations. It is in your mind and in your heart.

Envision it. Believe it. Know it. Right now. You have enough.

Repeat:  I have all that I need in this moment. I have enough.