Enough

It occurred to me yesterday that the difference between Type A personalities and others is that the others are satisfied with "enough". Enough is a highly underrated condition. It means you are content. You have enough. You have done enough, worked enough, own enough and spend enough. It covers all areas of the human condition, adequately. Enough. To say you have enough is to be satisfied with what you have. You need no more. You have enough. We don't feel this satisfaction often enough. I am learning. Contractors here in the north have adopted this condition as their work ethic. When they have enough, they have worked enough, and go fishing or hunting. They understand the importance of down time, and make sure that they don't miss whatever it is that they consider valuable. It may be family, fish or deer, but they know, without apology, that it is more important that whatever they are doing. The question is "don't they have families to support?" Our frustration at the difficulty in finding contractors who want to appear at 9 am and work till lunch, returning again after one hour and finishing the day, was becoming frantic. We were running out of recommendations when it finally dawned on me. They have it right. We need to just chill out a little and slow down. It will get done. We are not suffering without water or heat or food. We have enough. Relax, enjoy the down time. When they get here, it will get done. It may be 10:30; it may be tomorrow. It will be soon enough. We do know folks here who are on the same page as we are. We are all up and at 'em at the crack of dawn. Ready to go - progress! At 9:10 AM we are beginning to freak out. He's not here yet! The contractor is late! We spend time watching the clock, pacing for his arrival. Chomping at the bit. When he does arrive, he jumps right in and starts work. No apology, no remorse. Also no stress, no racing pulse. He works when he wants, he stops when he wants. He has enough, and other things are more important than our renovation project. Even though we are paying him, the money is not the issue. He has enough. He doesn't NEED us. This is the healthiest attitude I have come across in a long time. He is how I want to be. I want to learn to ride it out, to sit tight and let the day roll in. When we decide to pick up the pace, the work will be there. It will always be there. There will always be a wall that needs paint, spackle or wall board. There will also be improvements to be made, repairs to be done, jobs to tackle. It never ends. And so, the ability to recognize this and to embrace the moment, is a rare gift. Some call it laziness. The stereotypical upstater is unemployed and low income. This is not due to laziness. This is due to priorities. Ours are just different. We moved here to slow down and try to smell the roses before the bloom is over. But we brought with us our Type A work ethic. This is something we should have left on Long Island. It doesn't work here. We have to embrace this lifestyle of "enough", or we will be frustrated forever. "We've done enough for today" is the ability to see that there are three more hours of daylight, and if you play it right, you can get your line in the water before the sun goes down. This is what we wanted. We need to get with it. Enough of this blog. Get out there and do something for your head, not for your wallet. Make the choice to be satisfied with the material things, and make sure that you have enough soul food. I am talking about emotional food. Feed your soul. For that there is never enough.