Enough is Enough, by Frances E. FitzGerald

“You can never be too rich or too thin,” said the late Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. Sadly, for a broad swathe of American society, these words carry the ring of absolute truth. We scramble for promotions, ever-higher incomes, newer cars, larger homes, bigger TV sets, and brand-name clothing. And Simpson’s careless “too thin” comment reflects an unhealthy obsession with size, particularly in young American girls. Why do we think “skeletal” is a look to aspire to, anyway? When will we embrace “enough”? We can be rich enough, we can be thin enough, and we can be infinitely happier.

What’s rich enough? According to Reuters news agency, the top one percent of the richest people in the world own 46 percent of the world’s wealth. In contrast, the poorest 40% of the global population shares only five percent of world income, according to Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All (http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats). UNICEF reports that, every day, poverty kills an estimated 22,000 children around the world. Given this income inequality, clearly, some people really are too rich. It's no wonder Pope Francis criticizes the "idolatry of money."

And what’s thin enough? Up to 24 million people—of all ages and both genders—suffer from anorexia, bulimia, or binge-eating disorder in the U.S., according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). ANAD also reports that more than one-half of teenage girls and almost one-third of teenage boys try to keep their weight down by missing meals, smoking cigarettes, fasting, vomiting, and even taking laxatives. Clearly, you can be too thin—or destroy your health in the effort.

What a strange paradox this is: In a more-more-more society, we have individuals starving themselves by choice. In too much of the world, starvation is the only choice.

We may feel pressured for plenty of reasons: TV programs and commercials, peer pressure, movies that depict an upper-class lifestyle as the norm, photo-shopped images of models. (In fact, in one commercial, a woman touted a weight-loss aid that took her from a size 10 to a size 4. What’s wrong with a size 10?) We live in a society that seems to have a sketchy (at best) grasp of what’s enough in terms of assets and size. It’s no wonder our priorities get skewed and our energies get misdirected.

Embracing “enough” is incredibly liberating. We can enjoy what we have, what we look like, and what we value. And at the end of the day, what we value is not the stuff we’ve accumulated or size-4 clothing. We value our health, the people in our lives, our higher sense of purpose, and our larger community. That’s enough. In fact, that’s plenty.