Recently I heard someone talking about this incredible truth he had discovered, that “I am enough.”
It’s a popular idea right now, especially among the quasi-Eastern mindfulness crowd. The idea is that we are enough, in ourselves; we have everything we need; we are all we need.
On the surface, this seems like clear nonsense. But it makes sense if you root it in the Eastern idea that the universe is all one, and our notion of being separate individuals is just an illusion.
However, this isn’t a Christian idea. And to the question “are you enough?” I answer a resounding and cheerful … no!
I am not enough. Not by myself. I am not everything. I do not have everything.
I write about this today because the current crisis has reminded me how needy and dependent I am — how needy and dependent we all are.
We’re not sufficient in and of ourselves. We need each other. We need God and his grace. We need society, an economy that functions, an environment with breathable air and enough sunshine to get our vitamin D once in a while.
We are created beings: small, limited, powerful only within very defined constraints.
Personally, I find this very freeing. Rather than “I am enough” (which puts incredible pressure on *me* to get in touch with my enough-ness), I can tell myself “I belong here, I am unconditionally loved by God, and I find purpose by giving and receiving within a community of other human beings.”
As affirmations go, it’s a lot wordier. But I can stand by every word.
I embrace the truth of my inadequacy while receiving God’s love and grace and giving of myself as generously as I can.
A lot of things are changing in the world around us, but I hope we’ll all manage to grasp hold of this — we need each other, and we need God; just as others need us. And that is nothing to be ashamed of.
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Photo by Renate Vanaga on Unsplash
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