Living In A World Without “Enough” Is Dangerous And Unhealthy

Human beings live in realities of their own making — what happens when those realities lose their anchors? Hint: it’s not freedom.

Emily Sinclair Montague
10 min readJan 7, 2021

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Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

We are inhabitants of a world that never has enough. Whether it’s in terms of emotional fulfillment, money, political power, consumer goods, resources, or anything else that impacts our day to day reality, our existence seems more and more contingent on the sensation of wanting without end.

In simpler terms? We’ve lost our ability to experience true fulfillment, and it’s killing us.

Being the irreverent bastard that I am, I’ll use a poignant lyric from the hit Broadway musical Hamilton to illustrate the modern experience many of us have as, well, ourselves.

“You’re like me, I’m never satisfied…
Is that right?
I’ve never been satisfied.”

I used to describe myself as “restless,” as if that were a defining personality trait. Always wanting, needing, seeking — and all this in spite of having, literally, everything I could ever want or need. And if someone like me can feel that way on a regular basis, it must be a lot worse for those who do not occupy a space as privileged as mine.

I want to explore the concept of “enough” with you all today because I and many others have had enough of never having enough. Inspirational writers like Tim Denning and Jari Roomer talk about this frequently through their work on this very site, and the frustration of millions can be heard wherever you go, online or off.

So, how do we go from a sad, linear life of wanting to a healthier, happier cycle of purpose and fulfillment? Well sh**, guys, I have no idea. But here’s what I’ve observed.

The World Used To Provide All Our Boundaries For Us, And Now We Have To Build Them Ourselves.

Let me preface this by saying I’m a huge nerd, and (thanks to a bunch of AP credits) I was able to pursue studies in History, Politics, Religion, and Psychology during college.

I had a ton of free time in my curricular schedule and a lot of ADHD fueled curiosity…

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Emily Sinclair Montague

Author & Full-Time Writer. Embracing life’s chaos one word at a time. Get in touch at emsinclair@wordsofafeather.net (or don’t, but I love the attention)!