How Much Is Enough?

The simple picture at the end of this blog post of a couple of fishermen out in the Indian Ocean got me to contemplating a post that I completed about three years ago. The post addressed why I left my job in college coaching. I have reposted most of this particular blog, leaving out the parts about going to Europe to coach. During that time in my life, I'd let things get out of balance. This was a result of working too many hours, wearing too many hats, and not taking enough time to smell the roses.

The decision to come to India and the realities that I witness here on a daily basis have certainly caused me to reconsider many aspects of my life again. One such thought is, Am I giving enough to help those in need around me? I claim to be a person of considerable faith, but what am i really doing on a daily basis that requires faith in my life? In all actuality, I do very little on a daily basis that requires any decent measure of faith. I have clean water, hot food, a roof over my head, money in the bank, which is unlike most of those around me here.

When I witness the pure unbridled joy in the eyes of the school children here, I have to wonder, how can they possibly have so much joy? They are so happy. Maybe it's because they aren't even aware of all the things they don't have. Of course, this is only mere speculation on my part. I only know what I have seen firsthand throughout my time in India thus far. There is a simplicity to life here that rivals anything I've ever experienced.

Again, here is the repost and then a short story about a fisherman.

Where was the joy in my life? I have to admit most of the people I was around were miserable too. I was allowing myself to live in a box that I had created and much of what I was experiencing daily was self-imposed. Nobody was holding a gun to my head and demanding that I carry on living this way. The reason I continued down this dark road is that I got comfortable even when living in dysfunction. My desire to be a people pleaser probably also contributed to the mess I was in. I was always taking on more at work, and then my family were the ones who would suffer for it. The decision to change had to come from within. I realized that I needed to awaken and begin to swim upstream against the current. My goals were actually quite simple. I wanted to create more time for personal reflection, and live a more simple life. I would get outside and explore nature and all that God has created. I wanted to tap into my passions, and reconnect with my family in a deeper and more lasting way.

Many of these ideals are what Henry David Thoreau was searching for when he went to live at Walden Pond in 1845. Thoreau felt that outside forces dull and subjugate the inner man, especially materialism and constant labor. He emphasized the importance of surmounting the obstacles that materialistic society places in the path of the individual. When he made his journey to Walden, he sought self-improvement and a desire to cultivate his intellectual and spiritual needs. The world we live in and the busyness we are all a part of can really choke and suppress what we might be. Essentially, I am talking about living more in the present and leading a more deliberate life. The culture you live in will always tell you that you need more "things" to make you happy. Here is a short story that illustrates the contentment and fulfillment that can be attained through living a simple life. The story also illustrates how others/society will try and influence us to pursue principles or ideals that have less meaning and significance.

How Much is Enough?

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fishermen docked. Inside the small boat were several large fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied only a little while.

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “ but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fishermen said, “ I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “ I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.

The Mexican fisherman asked, “ But how long will all this take?’

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then?”

The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?” asked the fisherman, “Then what?”

The American said, “ Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening, sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos!”

Author Unknown

Lights out.