Hello, and welcome back to Practicing Human, the podcast where every day we're getting a little better at life.

I am your host, Cory Muscarra, tuning in from Cropollo Retreat Center in Massachusetts.

And today, we're going to be talking about when will enough be enough?

More on that in a moment, but first, as always, let's settle in with the sound of the bells.

Okay, so when will enough be enough?

I just want you to take a moment to think about some of the things that you're working toward in your life right now.

So in things that maybe you're applying a lot of effort toward, that maybe you want to grow or make better, or just this sense of once this becomes that, then I can relax and I can be more at ease.

So just take a moment to think about what some of those things might be.

That could be related to your financial well-being, maybe having a sense of freedom with your time, or related to your family once everyone gets older or whatever it might be.

You know, we all can get caught up in the flow of our life, in a sense of where we're trying to get.

We've talked about goals on this podcast, and intentions on this podcast, and the value of working toward things in the future, especially an idea of a life that we're trying to create.

I'm doing that constantly, and just because a big emphasis here is on mindfulness and presence doesn't mean that there's not merit to future thinking and actively moving toward and trying to create a life that you're excited to live into.

I think that's one of the things that makes us unique as human beings, that we can prospect, that we can imagine, that we can see where we are right now and go, wow, what would it be like if I were there, and then take action in that direction.

And with all of that said, I still think it can be extremely valuable to periodically ask yourself, to stop and ask yourself, when will it be enough, and how will I know?

When will it be enough, and how will I know?

Now, this isn't a question that presupposes you're working too hard to get someplace else.

It's a question that's coming from genuine curiosity, that there's no answer.

There's no specific answer that's supposed to arise. It's not like you're supposed to ask, when will it be enough, and how will I know?

And then the response is going to be, oh yeah, I am working too hard, or I am doing too much, or I am trying to get more and more and more.

No, there might actually be something that genuinely arises as, once I once this sort of shifts, or once this kind of arranges itself in my life, or once I just get past this moment, I really do feel like I'll be able to settle a bit more.

See what comes up around it. The question is used specifically with the understanding that it can be so easy to get caught on automatic pilot on the treadmill of striving for something in the future that we actually lose sight of why we're working towards something in the first place.

What is the end point that originally inspired this particular motivation? Is that end point a feeling? Is it a material thing? Is it a relationship?

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