Is It Enough?

A question we ask often in my house is, "Is it enough?". Whenever we are consuming resources, we try to use just enough and no more. It is all about economy and efficiency, something Nature is good at, and we try to emulate.

My camera, which in electronics terms, is ancient. It is about 14 years old and is held together with a rubber band (from a bunch of broccoli) so the batteries don't fall out. 

Is it pretty? No. Is it the best/latest? No? Is it enough? Yes.

It's not about sacrifice and denial, because I don't feel like I am missing out on anything. What it is about is saving money, having a better life with more time for living, while being gentle on Mother Earth. 

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to become a monk to do this. But it does require some discipline and self-control, two old fashioned values that used to check and balance our baser instincts.

With this in mind, we have a rule in our house - the only time something will be replaced is if it has been used to death. 

In the process we have learned that with gentle care, most things will last a long time. If they break they can often be fixed, and we enjoy the challenge of jerry-rigging things to extend their useable life.

Nature does not waste anything, and neither should we. 

One of the best ways of avoiding creating waste is to not buy anything beyond the immediate requirements for a good life. Another is to honour your material possessions by using them gently and for as long as possible.

This way of living has been described as "enoughism". 

Enoughism states that "there is a point where consumers possess everything they need, and buying more would actually make them worse off. It emphasizes less spending and more buying restraint. It is the antonym of consumerism." 

Since the planet can not afford consumerism, or "the practice of conspicuously buying flashy, expensive items and expecting them to fill the voids in one's life", enoughism offers a way to a better future. 

When I can no longer keep my camera together with rubber bands, duct tape and twine, it will be replaced at that time and not a moment before. 

I guess I am an enoughist. Enough, enougher, enoughist.

Besides, my modified camera obscura and I have a relationship. Oh, the things we have seen and recorded together. How long can this partnership last?

If just enough, or good enough, will suffice, then what will striving for more achieve? 

Other than waste, nothing.