Enough may never be enough

As human beings, it seems that once we attain what we think will make us whole, we grow bored quickly and need something new in order to feel satisfied. We are addicted to what we don’t have.

You could sit down at this very moment and list out all the reasons why you’re fortunate, and while you’re writing that list you would want nothing more. You could get together with a group of people that you care about and discuss rational ideas within this irrational society, and in that moment and the hours after, you would feel comfortable with what you have and who you are; contentment feels like a legitimate possibility. It’s when you turn on your television and the talking heads tell you that you need to be rich, famous, and flawless; that your thirst for more becomes unquenchable. You forget that you are enough. You find yourself making comparisons between your life and the life of someone you assume has it all figured out, and all of your accomplishments are never enough to satisfy you.

The issue with this “never enough” mentality is that we all have it to some degree. We collectively fail to realize that even the people who have “figured it out” are on some level still as lost and broken as everyone else. That’s the drawback of being a member of the generation more interested in documenting life-like activities, rather than creating a life. If we always seem confident in the pictures and words that we post, then maybe we will start to feel that way in real life. Everyone is constantly looking for validation in the form of likes and comments to give meaning to our twisted sense of self. We honestly believe that as long as people buy into the illusion that we are happy and everything is going great, that we won’t have to face reality.

Reality is that we want all the material c**p, social media fame, and worthless validation in order to feel accepted by others. The reason all of those things bring only temporary satisfaction is that they aren’t the answer. We all keep looking for other people to accept us in order to feel whole, when all that’s truly necessary is that we accept ourselves. We are in a universal competition for acceptance that no one wants a part of, but so few have the courage to stop competing.

What will ever be enough?

 

Photo credits: Google photos

A Homeless Man’s Home

A homeless man with his dog

“Home”, a simple yet meaningful word, full of life and limitless interpretations of what an ideal or perfect place of residence consists of. One may ask, what makes a house a home? This question, however, cannot be answered simply, for there are countless perceptions of what having a home really means. A man and his dog may be homeless, with absolutely nothing at their disposal, yet still feel like they have a home. This man may work hard all day, searching, scrounging, and collecting supplies, yet despite his efforts, find nothing. The man, however, is not discouraged nor does he find himself feeling hopeless, because at the end of the day, he has a home to come back to. Any area on this planet is a home to him, as long as he has his best friend and his greatest supporter, his dog, right by his side. The man has never treated another human being with corruptive intentions, he has never committed a crime, and he has never complained about any situation he has ever faced, yet he lives a life most others would dread. Why is this? Why does this man feel at home when he lives without a house? A different man may live in an apartment, a house, or even a mansion, yet still feel like he has no home. This same man may live in a house full of luxury items, but at the end of the day, feel homeless. A man with almost nothing can live a better life than a man with almost everything. So what makes a house a home? Well it all depends on who the person is. You could give a man a house worth millions, and he’ll be disappointed. You could give another man a house worth hundreds and he’ll be thanking you for the rest of his life. The contents within the house do not matter, but who you share it with does. Family, friendship, and love can provide a home for anyone on this planet. Whether you are rich, poor, healthy, sick, black, white, old, or young these are necessary for having a home. No matter how nice your house is, you are not at home until you have something money can’t buy. It is unknown whether or not the homeless man and his dog will be successful in life, but despite whatever happens in the end, he has lived a content life, with a home he loved. Is the homeless man really homeless? In my eyes, this man has a home that most of us could only dream of.

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