Eckhart Tolle describes the ego’s signature as being “not enough” and applies that to all times when we crave more – bingeing in any form included.
“The ego lives from this sense of insufficiency, of not enough, of needing more.” Eckhart Tolle (Ref)
This notion of the ego representing ‘not enough’ feels like a good balancer to the notion of the heart welcoming ‘everything’ as AOK. The wise part of us can also invite in a sense of satisfaction, satiation and the ability to self-moderate.
An apt reminder might be the saying, “Enough is as good as a feast”
I recognise that I can bring myself some new awareness here. I can potentially more readily say, at the right moment, “Yes, that’s enough…
- Screentime
- Work
- Lunch
- Efforting
- Amending
- Worrying
- Procrastinating
- Pudding
- Qualifications
If I could nail this Enough thing, I could potentially expect positive outcomes such as an increased ability to…
- Market my business comfortably
- Spend less adrenaline on preparing courses
- Drink moderately
- Sleep on time
- Get out and exercise on demand
*****
I notice that when I say to myself softly, “That’s enough now” I get access to some equanimity. It’s as if just this little phrase reels in my brain’s tendency to turbo charge… or to crave ‘more’. It also feels like gentle self-parenting – and it’s never too late for that. The result of my responding to “That’s enough now” is not a sense of deprivation or disappointment as anticipated… but increased mental balance. Who would have guessed?
Furthermore, when I gently say, “That’s enough now” and break some distracted or rabbit-holey behaviour by bringing this compassionate awareness to bear, I’m often able immediately to catch a fresh Wave of Executive Function. Sweet.
It’s almost like you’re greasing up the seesaw of “relax” and “do”, so that it’s ever easier to switch state… and return in due course to homeostasis.
Reminds me of this description of the autonomic nervous system:
And the gentle work of self-parenting seems to loosen the ego’s grip that says “more, more!”. The ego is the childish aspect of us in this regard…
Maturing certainly involves taming the ego. Plenty of adults adopt an apparently ‘mature’ style which belies a highly ego-driven state.
Like the non-stop executive… The ‘committed’ politician…. The ‘juggling it all’ parent…
It looks pretty ‘grown up’, eh? Something to aspire too? It’s a really tricksy one to detach from, this idea that a good ‘adulthood’ is about doing / acquiring / achieving / seeing / consuming / experiencing more and yet more.
When, in reality, ‘enough is as good as a feast’ – right?
Right.
I am learning that enough is as good as a feast.