Enoughness

The title of this blogpost is taken from John Naish's book Enough. His argument is that not only do we have everything we could possibly need, but also that by always chasing after more, we are wrecking the planet for everyone else (not to mention future generations), AND not being any happier and fulfilled ourselves. He warns that if we don’t appreciate this fact, the cycle of manufacturing and consuming ever ‘more’ of everything  “will continue until the planet is only fit for cockroaches.” 

One of the worst things that the affluent West is doing is producing dangerous greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming and climate change. And the irony is, although we (the developed world) are the major “sinners” in this respect, it is in the developing world that the worst impacts are felt – through drought, flooding, and other natural disasters such as tsunamis.

So what can we, as concerned individuals, do? It isn’t enough just to put the papers and bottles into a recycling box once a week, or to buy organic vegetables. To really make a difference, enough of us need to make fundamental changes to our lifestyles.

I think the time is drawing near when we can no longer put our heads in the sand. Not if we want to live with ourselves. Not if we want a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren to live on. Not if we truly believe that exploitation and slavery are wrong. Perhaps it is time for us to take responsibility for the choices we make, and to buy only fair-traded food, and ethically produced clothing.  If enough of us “voted with our feet” by no longer buying goods that are the results of exploitation, maybe things would change. Maybe.

All these things are fine and practical. But I agree with John Naish when he says that the changes we need to make are more fundamental. We really do need to adopt his doctrine of enoughism and realise that we already have everything we need. We need to educate ourselves out of the consumerist treadmill that our primitive brains have hot-wired us into, and realise that we actually don’t need to buy the latest gadget, the newest fashion item, the fastest car, in order to be contented and fulfilled in our lives. We need to wean ourselves off the dependency on material goods to provide happiness, because he’s right – they don’t. We need to  examine our lives with enoughism in mind, and ask ourselves some important questions, like:

·         What optimum level of information do I need to thrive?

·         How many technological gadgets do I actually need, as opposed to desire?

·         Do I really savour the food I eat? Or do I gollop it down quickly without tasting it?

·         Do I truly need this new outfit / mobile phone / slow cooker, rather than just want it?

·         Has my desire for this thing been implanted by marketing techniques?

·         Is there anything I already own that I could substitute for it?

·         If I’m replacing something I’ve already got, what’s really wrong with the old one?

·         Have I got my work/life balance right?

·         Do I spend my leisure time doing the things I love?

·         What do I truly value?

Reading Naish’s book has really made me realise how badly we are messing up the planet, with our insatiable demands for more of everything. To pay for our Western affluence, 80% of the world’s population lives in sub-standard housing, and 50% suffer from malnutrition. Our selfish ways mean that global warming is spiralling out of control, with fateful consequences for our world. It is time to say STOP, re-evaluate our lives and try to un-do some of the harm we have done.