Yesterday I went to see David Attenborough’s A Life on our Planet. Part elegy for wildlife already gone, part warning for what is inevitably to come and part call to arms for us all to do whatever we can to reverse the destruction of the beautiful ecosystem of life here on our planet. It was a heart-breaking watch.
The paradox is, that whilst nature’s pattern is infinitely abundant, humankind’s exploitation of nature has pushed it beyond renewal. We have taken too much. Our greed has led to scarcity. We need to find balance and remember the deep wisdom of ENOUGH.
In my work as a coach, I’m often exploring with clients how they can find balance – internally and externally. Enough is a state of equilibrium between cost and gain – scarcity and glut. We seek to fill our needs – internal belonging, a belief in ourselves, resources to sustain us and connection with nature and each other – and we stop when we have sufficient. When often when we do stop things it is often accompanied by a sense of relief.
The world is crying out for us to re-find the rhythm of life where ENOUGH is our centre of gravity. To do that, we need to connect to our inner worlds, connect to each other and connect to the natural world of which we are all a part. To feel that we are enough and that we have enough. Because connection is how we belong to each other and the planet we share with all other creatures. Let’s help each other find our way towards enough. Let’s do the inner work and come together to do what’s required to re-balance the earth’s ecosystems. Let’s move from heartbreak to hope.
Like so many of us, I have been wracking my brains for thirty years about how we can get the message out to everyone, individuals, corporates, governments that we need to change how we exploit the world and her resources. And here’s what I think. We need to explore the concept of ‘enough’ – for us as individuals, for us as societies and ultimately for us as a species.
