Yesterday at about 3 minutes to nap time, Gina called and said, “Do you have a couple of hours to write this afternoon?”
I think, “Is she kidding? A couple of hours not planned, not already designated for something, some chore, some assignment past due? Ha! No way.” Instead, the writer in me, hungry to write always, says, “I’m not sure. For what?”
“Web site content. I have more to do than time for it.”
I’m hooked doubly: help? write? “What exactly? Plant a seed so I can chew on it while I get her down.”
“For the ‘About Sufficiency’ page.”
Again, in my head, I think, “Is she serious? I have no idea! I’m too new in the conversation. It’s so slippery, this sufficiency business, this living in enough. There are no words to articulate its nuance, its finesse, its layers … I can’t do it.”
But I do. I say, “Yeh, I’ll be in touch with how things go over here with Maz.” Gina is grateful. We have a deadline for the site getting up.
I get some ideas while reading and resting next to Maxine, key words float through, even some flow to the whole piece gathers in my mind. I’m surprised by what emerges, (Gina is also later surprised), but it feels right, so I send it off, raw and ready for edits. She tightens it up, and sends a note: “Do we want to add something about transparency?” I think she means she’ll add something about it; this is all happening late at night, in the third shift of the working mom’s life, and I am tired, not thinking clearly.
In the light of morning and on a beautiful spring day, here it is, what we, in this moment, say About Sufficiency:
Sufficiency is an emergent conversation and context of having, doing and being enough in which to create our lives, our leadership and our businesses. Sufficiency is many things. It is a declaration in the form of a mindset, it is an amount in the form of believing the truth, and it is a conversation in the form of a global movement.
As a mindset, it becomes the way in which we inquire and listen to others – and to ourselves – to discover our true needs and values. Sufficiency guides us, and our clients, to align actions with clear priorities. We also cultivate practices out of sufficiency that support our listening and mindfulness, such as transparency – telling the truth about what is. This context led us to build businesses and lives that we believe will stand the test of time over many generations. Sufficiency is an antidote to anxiety, fear, distraction and shame.
As an amount, we inquire: What is enough? We are rigorous, but also gentle in our inquiry, taking a stand in sufficiency with inclusiveness and ease. We look at our homes and within our businesses, at our buying, driving and eating habits, at our ways of competing and getting ahead in the world. The truth of sufficiency is that there is enough – air, food, water, shelter, clothes, love, money, and resources – for all human beings on Earth to live a comfortable life. We choose to orient to that truth as we build and sustain our lives and our businesses.
As a global movement, we integrate our personal journey and our organizational work within the context of community to discern the best way to restore social fabric and to forward together. Sufficiency is a re-emergent idea, one that is born inside of conversation and collaboration. Like sustainability, sufficiency is grounded in the principles of nature and it cannot subsist without community. It declares, there is enough, and as a movement it is a path to a world we can all enjoy.