Plenty Enough

Plenty Enough

"My chosen husbandry I'll reveal, without concealment:
Fresh leeks, hens, speckled salmon, bees.,
Sufficient clothes and food from the King of fair fame,
And chance to sit at times, praying God in each place."
    ___ St. Manchan, "Prayer" (trams CM)


    The fantasy of future perfect conditions, of how life will be when we make the big time, often hides the fact of our present plenty, which we take for granted. In a consumerist society, we are tempted to go after more when we actually have enough of something, becoming hoarders or collectors rather than users of a commodity.
    And yet, even when we have every good thing that money can buy, if we do not have the simple commodities listed in Manchan's poem - clean water and air, fresh food free of contamination or toxicity, the company of like-souled people to share our plenty - then we are truly impoverished.
    How can we truly appreciate what we have? Learning to live with enough, rather than with indulgence, may help us balance the availability of all good things, help us refrain from using more than we need.
     An indwelling sense of scarcity may derive from feelings of inadequacy and our desire to make good the deficiency, or it may originate in fear of poverty. To obtain a sense of plenty, we have only to appreciate the things we enjoy and own on a daily basis to be glad of the way that they sustain and support our lives.

"Take time to contemplate your present life-style. Where do you need to rein in your consumption? Appreciate the plenty you enjoy and give thanks for it."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]