‘Good’ Enough
Stipulating:
On the first 5 days of
creation, Hashem graded each day as ‘good,’ on the 6th day, He rated
that day ‘very good,’ and on the 7th day God rested (no rating on
that day).
Relative to my father’s
place of birth (Girard Ave ((aka “Stinkard Ave”)) area in Philly) in reference
to my mom’s hometown of Indiana, Pa sarcastically, Dad would say to Mom: “what
do you want from a balagola from
Stinkard Ave, I’m not from the the best, the finest The Garden Spot of The
World, Indiana Pa.”
Working with very successful clients (no sarcasm intended) who
were typically ‘the best, the finest” in their businesses in my then ENOUGH(sm) fee only personal financial
planning practice, there was often problem usually realized but diverted,
delayed, put on hold: ‘what next’ after their business, practice, ball playing
days.
In going through the ENOUGH(sm)
aligning meaning with means process - the inevitable question became
transitioning to ‘what next’ when the time comes. And rather ‘I’m gonna die
with my boots on’ or just going ‘cold
turkey’ from one day to next, to that end, we examined their ‘some day things.’
(see The Soul Resume - After Life Insurance: Remember Me in the forthcoming
Judaism On Purpose™ Homecoming Edition)
One of the problems of ‘what next - and making a difference’
for - those very successful ‘the best,
the finest’ stars is their next endeavor as these type A+ overachievers want to be stars in their next episode…… in 20 minutes (forgetting the 20+
years it may have taken them to be the success they are in their current
vocation.)
Therefore, they needed ‘permission
to not be good’ at their ‘what next, someday thing, episode giving them
leeway without having to be ‘the best, the brightest the finest’ so they could ‘test
it out.’ (Note in Hebrew the word for ‘test’ nes is the same word for ‘test.’
And for some to test - when not the best, and finest already - was sometimes ‘a
miracle.’)
The client (especially those ‘50’s +) with some reservations
initially agreed to each week on the same day the same afternoon to try out -
learn about - their someday thing, what next, their next episode - ‘with -
again - permission to not having to be good at it.’ There was no - ‘I’ll do it
once a week, when I have time’ or what I called ‘left over time.’
More -so than not - this permission approach worked -
however, in one case where it did not work I got a call from a spouse, ‘he
needs to go back to work. He’s driving me nuts. He even put my spices in
alphabetical order.’
‘It’s such a relief not to have to be good,’
said a confessed horrible surfer of 20 years
Wall Street Journal,
‘Failure Is An Option In Some Cases’ 09/12/22
We’re never enough is the messages that bombard us hourly,
daily, monthly year after year. And so, what’s enough? More or as JP Morgan
once defined enough ‘just a little more.’
Advertising be it on TV, web, billboard etc indicate we are
deficient - not enough - but that can be remedied if we just bought this one product
(i.e. Clearasil™ or service (i.e. Botox or ER solutions).
And so imbedded, reinforced, acculturated & bombarding
is a sense of inadequacy - not enoughness.
Ironically, it is spiritually (otherwise, why are we here?)-
where we are ‘not enough’ as only, God is ENOUGH - ‘The ENOUGH.’ And one of
God’s names in Hebrew is Shaddai meaning ‘God almighty, God all sufficient,
Enough.)
Thus, while wee cannot be ENOUGH as only God is Shaddai- but we can be ‘good enough’ continuing
to complete the incompletions of our soul spiritualizing the material
materializing the spiritual in this life.
Connect both worlds - the spiritual and the material
Reb Simcha Bunim
1765-1827
The Almighty has let His work unfinished so that man can
continue it, striving toward completion; in doing so, man becomes a partner
with the Almighty in the Divine task of creation….
So, too, man is not created complete
Ethics From Sinai, by
Rabbi Irving M. Bunim, 1963, p121
(on Perek II, Mishnah 1)
Yet, our perceived deficiency, defectiveness, inadequacy
& lack (rather than assignment to continue to complete the incompletions of
our soul) seeks more at the expense of
good enough. (If anything, the concept of ‘enough’ has become association
with settling and being ‘resigned to.’ Worse in accepting enough, we are merely
adequate - mediocre - average (such that one could not even inhabit or be
welcomed in Lake Wobegon
"where all the women are strong,
all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”)
Identifying his body as
himself - and fearing its extinction, man’s primary strategy for
‘im-MORE-tality is acquisition (which in Hebrew is Cain as in Cain and Able).
The main derivative tributary of Acquisition: - more, more, more - and thus there
is never enough let alone ‘good enough.’
And so there is driven LACKose intolerance force (seeking
im-MORE-tality) via acquisition & it’s more, more, more overwhelming &
dismissing ‘good enough.’
Man has a will to meaning
Viktor Frankel
Even when there is ‘the someday thing,’ the ‘what next,’ or
better yet ‘meaning’ (as presented often as ‘making a difference’) - the
someday thing, the what next, and or meaning are typically confronted by one’s
inner harsh self inflicted grader imploring ‘be effective, Now!’ causing not of not enoughness.
The lack of effectiveness (up to one’s standards -
immediately) or even if effective condemning oneself for not being efficient - causing
a recycling to more because one is insufficient.
Wheat must be ground and mustard must be seasoned
The first five days of creation weren’t finished - Hashem’s
creation was good for man to continue to complete. In the same manner Good Enough
isn’t complete - but rather subject to developing & refining - to continue
to complete & to accept Good Enough rather than be on the never ending MOREon
hamster treadmill of ‘more, more, more’ which is never enough without parole
from one’s internal Warden.
Again, after each of the first five days of creation, Hashem’s
assessment was ‘it was good.’ And the sixth day was judged to be ‘very good.’
But none of the 6 days were considered finished let alone graded a A or A+
though Hashem’s creation was completed. Man’s
work, INside out and Outside IN, is, in junior partnership to develop and enhance
Hashem’s creation via fabricating, assembling and transforming- not for more,
more, more - but ‘good enough’ for Shaddai - ‘The’ ENOUGH.
CHEWish
On This©
‘Good
Enough’
