Enough

Years ago, I discovered a fun way to leverage my imagination and discover a simple way to be content. I call it the ‘black card experiment’ where I imagine that I have an AmEx Black card with no requirement to ever pay the balance. For the uneducated, the Black card is a no-limit credit card made out of metal, and a status symbol to those that carry it.

The point of the exercise is to figure out how long it takes for me to get bored buying things. It doesn’t take long, and there’s a hard truth that accompanies materialistic things that money can buy; you can only enjoy one thing at a time. Even if you have a warehouse full of exotic cars, you can only drive one at a time. A portfolio of mansions? Only one can house you at a time, while all of them require constant maintenance and upkeep.

We don’t live in a world where the word “enough” is propagated on commercials. Rather, the message that one can never have enough is what most people are force-fed.

I’ve never seen a superbowl commercial that advertised a family dinner at home as the golden standard of living. Rather, millions are spent reminding consumers that if they consume more, they’ll be…better.

Materialism and lust go hand-in-hand. To the untrained eye; one that can’t help but gawk at every hot piece of ass that walks by, there is no perfect woman. Rather, the thrill of the chase is what gets the gawker off, and one body isn’t enough to retire their wandering eyes.

To the materialistic individual, no amount of stuff can ever bring contentment. There’s always one more outfit, purse, suit, watch, car, home or pair of overpriced sunglasses that each scream “If you get me, THEN you will be happy.”

Years ago, I dated somebody who read me her breakup text she would send to guys in Los Angeles who decided not to date her anymore. It finished something like this: “there will always be a richer guy, somebody who’s better looking, has a bigger *house*….”

She was saying something in that message that I think is very true about life. There’s always a bigger fish. There’s always somebody else who is better looking than the person you’re with, or with deeper pockets than the ones you have. There will always be a bigger home, faster car and smarter competition out there.

To join the rat race of chasing after more is akin to walking into a casino with the mindset that you’re going to beat the house.

If you gamble enough – you are sure to ____

Lose.

Life is short. The greatest treasures are the people you love, the time you have and the peace that comes from knowing enough is more than enough.