HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH… HOW MUCH DO WE WANT? 

Who decides, and what decides if this is enough?

Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India and popularly known as ‘The Missile Man’ – Bharat Ratan and decorated with several awards, lived a very ordinary life with just four trousers and six shirts. He had a voracious appetite for knowledge and accomplishments but a bare basic wardrobe and a meagre lifestyle. Luxuries that were not enough for ordinary people were enough for him.

Being contented and feeling that ‘this is enough’ is a very abstract and personal perception. There can’t be limits or set boundaries to decide what is enough for an individual.

During my college days, there were slender and slim hostelers who consumed fourteen ‘parathas’ per meal. Gosh! For me, two was enough. There was a major fight every day with the poor mess supervisor because these boys were still hungry. It intrigues me — what is enough for the satiety centre?

I wonder when people started hoarding things? Stone-age people were nude nomads who had just two basic instincts—to eat and to multiply. In today’s scenario — imagine living under an open sky with a bare minimum of clothing to cover and basic food to fill the tummy. We will still survive and multiply, won’t we?

Have you ever seen an animal, bird or fish hoarding food? They will have their tummy covered and leave the rest for others to consume.

Humans are unique creations. They have to hoard everything from wealth, commodities, clothes, luxuries and not to miss, relationships. The term “Enough”—doesn’t seem to exist in their vocabulary. We do see people scratching their noses on the floor in front of the deity saying –‘God, enough! No more misery and suffering.’ But there is ‘no enough’ for worldly pleasures and achievements.

Feeling ‘not enough’ and the habit of ‘hoarding’ go hand in hand.

Hoarding is a mental disorder similar to Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD).

My distant uncle had a habit of hoarding the trivial. After his death, his secret store revealed thousands of discarded iron nuts, bolts, nails, plastic bags and boxes – items that he picked from places and even roads. Such people have a severe emotional attachment to inanimate objects and extreme anxiety when making decisions. Hoarding relieves stress. There is a persistent difficulty discarding or partying with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. NOTHING SEEMS TO BE ENOUGH. People hold items because they believe — they are unique, may have an emotional attachment, don’t want to waste it and feel safe saving them. Such people need medical help because this may interfere with the lives of those who live with them.

There is another breed – The Collectors — people who have hobbies of collecting stamps, coins, artefacts, paintings and various artworks. There is a thin line between collection and hoarding. After all, both situations have one thing in common, PASSION. Passion is like a flowing river. Good till it is within its limits – overflow brings havoc, misery and pain.

Another reason to keep collecting things beyond requirements is a comparison with the people around us. ‘Ms Duggal has ten Banarsi saris; why don’t I?’ It is not just that we want more, but that we want more than others, who at the same time want more than us; this fuels a never-ending race of stupidity and insanity.

‘Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too late.” EPICURUS.

The most exciting part of a feeling of not-enoughness, hoarding, and passion is, making relationships and loving.

I know people who are social animals and have a hoard of friends and alliances. Moving in between kitty parties and mundane associations is a way of life. They are public figures, and the more people around, the more, the merrier. The pandemic times have hit them hard below the belt. They are learning to believe that being around more people doesn’t mean happiness. ‘There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough.’

‘The only way to know how much is enough is to do too much and then back up.’

When the question of love arrives, too much is not enough.

Somebody asked, ‘How much love is enough to make it last forever?’

There are several different answers and perceptions to the query. It all depends upon the individual’s intellect and emotional depth.

We all stand in front of the mirror and decide what is enough to make us happy in the true sense of the word.

I am still waiting for Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Bezos and our own Mukesh Ambani to say – IT’S ENOUGH NOW.

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