Starting from Enough

What does it mean to start from enough? For me, it is about taking the first step from a place of sufficiency, certainty, contentment, and trust. And this can apply to many areas in our lives and to many endeavors, of course.

Since this is a time of new beginnings, we can place our focus on this fresh start. For many of us, this period is a time of going back; back home if we traveled for the holidays, back to our routines, to our jobs, to our eating habits, and to our lives as we usually know them. This sense of coming back brings forth different emotions and reactions: the relief of returning to the comfort of the known; the excitement of a fresh start—of being granted a clear slate; the guilt of having strayed from our good habits and routines during this time of celebrations and often excesses; and the pressure to do things right and better this time—from actually accomplishing our dreams, achieving our goals, and working harder to make all this happen.

We begin the year feeling lacking and inadequate, even if on the surface we feel motivated and inspired. It is from this sense of lack and inadequacy that our motivation and inspiration often come, unfortunately.

It doesn’t have to be that way; we are just programmed this way.

We can still draw our visions and dreams on this clear slate that the new year gives us with a sense of sufficiency and contentment—for the pure joy of it.

We can still care for our bodies, gently shifting poor health habits into more nourishing ones.

We can still choose to make wiser financial decisions. We can start or finish the projects we abandoned, neglected, or were too scared to start in the past. We can become kinder, more compassionate, and loving human beings.

There is nothing wrong with trying to improve ourselves and our lives—it is part of our evolutionary nature, in fact. But we can do so from a place of love, and not fear or guilt.

It is always a good idea to ask ourselves why we feel inspired or motivated to do something.

Do we want to start exercising and eating more healthful foods out of respect and reverence for our bodies—or self-loathing and guilt about the way they look or about how we have been treating them?

Are we starting a low-buy challenge or committing to saving money because we want to become financially free or have a specific purpose for our money in the future that excites us and keeps us focused and motivated? Or because we feel guilty and full of shame for how much money we spent last year or how little we have in our bank account?

Are we committed to our goals, visions, and projects because of how good the idea of bringing them to life feels? Or because we feel a certain pressure to do them, or because someone else we admire is doing them? Because we—or others—think it is what we should be doing, pursuing, hustling for?

Are we inspired to become more patient, loving, generous, honest, or kind because we recognize those qualities as part of our true nature? Or is it because we feel guilt about how angry, deceitful, impatient, greedy, or stingy we’ve been in the past?

In our realm of polarities, everything has two sides. There is always more than one way of looking at things and of doing things. There is also more than one place from which we can start anything we want. The beauty of being human is that we can choose which side we focus on—which side we choose to look at. And which place we start from.

We can choose the bright side, and we can start from the light—and feeling light.

We can also choose to see the dark side of everything and anything, and we can start in the darkness, feeling the weight of our neediness, our lack, and our sense of inadequacy, along with the distance, obstacles, and time that separate us from our desires—which only become bigger, harder to overcome, longer, and more real the more we focus on them.

Things started to change as I contemplated this truth. I began to notice how everything has more than one side in our world, physically and energetically. I started to realize how I really do have the power within me to choose to look at and focus on the bright side of everything, bringing forth the light—even in the darkest of things.

The world begins to shift before our eyes as we choose to see the beauty and light in it—especially in the places where it is harder to find. And of course, we won’t always succeed at this. We are deprogramming generation after generation of choosing to see the negative and reprogramming our minds to do the opposite. This takes time and practice, but the more we do it, the easier it gets.

When I say “easier,” I am not only referring to the habit of looking at things from a positive standpoint, but to everything. Life becomes easier when we stop judging and fighting it and begin to appreciate it.

The more we appreciate what is—as it is—the closer we feel to our dreams, goals, visions, and desires. That is because we are choosing to start from a place of acceptance, contentment, gratitude, and love. 

Deep, honest questions rooted in my heart arise as I adopt this worldview: How can I contribute toward what is already perfect? How can I help it grow and expand? How can I shed a light upon all the beauty and perfection that exist all around, within me, and within all things and beings? What am I here to give, receive, and share in this moment?

Just typing down these questions fills my heart with joy and excitement.

It is a motivation that comes from the truest, purest part of me. It comes from the light, and it is meant to be manifested and expressed as light. It also feels light—weightless. It is detached from the outcome and from any pressure or obligation from outer forces and sources. It feels easy, and as I’ve heard and learned before, easy is good.

These questions also create in me a sense of openness. The truth is, as I ask them, I don’t know the answers. Instead, the answers are revealed in each moment, shapeshifting as life moves, changes, and evolves. They are different for different people, moments, and situations.

Yet this sense of openness, instead of bringing uncertainty, brings us the opposite.

When our intentions are pure—coming from love and from the light—we can have absolute certainty that, in whatever way the answers are revealed, that way will be perfect. As we let go of our false need for things to be a certain way, we can relax, enjoy, and allow things to unfold and be as they are. We become teachable, open, more creative, flexible, willing, grateful, and energized.

We can still have specific dreams and visions—which, by the way, are important to have because they send out clear messages of what we want to experience, receive, create, or share—and we can become excited about the idea of seeing these visions evolve and move through and with life.

It is as if we are about to begin a walk in nature, excited about what we may encounter, perhaps with some ideas in mind depending on where we are. At the same time, a sense of curiosity, humbleness, and freedom accompanies every step, for it is impossible for us to know what, where, and when we will encounter what this walk brings us. There is also a deep inner knowing that even if we don’t see or experience any of the things we had in mind, or were hoping to, the walk on its own will be perfect—it will be enough.

This is what starting from enough means to me. It is an invitation I extend to you as you start this year. As you plant the seeds of your desires and visions in your garden, nurture and water them with openness and certainty, knowing that these seeds contain within them all that is needed for them to flourish and grow—just like you. Open your heart to the endless possibilities they carry, and open your eyes to the beauty and perfection that already exist within all things and all moments.

How do you want to help this beauty and perfection expand as you gently, joyfully, softly, and trustingly move through this year?