“Enough is abundance to the wise.” — Euripides

Recognizing what we have when we have it is one of the most obvious ingredients in the happiness recipe.  It is human nature to look ahead, to plan, to dream; as it is to look behind to examine, analyze.  Staying in the moment is often a difficult proposition and one that takes applied effort and concentration at times.  At others it is so easy to become caught up in the present and to let go of everything but the now.  When we are fully present whatever we have or do is enough for that moment.  It is only in thinking forward or back that it becomes lacking.

We are also comparative beings, observing what others have and pitting that against our own.  We are often instructed in religion and mythology to compare ourselves to those who have little, to gain greater appreciation for our own situation.  But comparisons in either direction cause us to view our place relatively as opposed to in the immediate.  And in the immediate is where gratification lies.  In any given moment we have the gift to see what we have and cherish it, instead we all too often find it wanting in comparison to some idealized view of what we might have.

Continuing one’s focus on the present, paying attention to the gifts in our lives, knowing in our wisdom that we are at peace with little or much; we proceed on the journey of becoming our best selves, moment by moment.