WHY IT IS NEVER ENOUGH

There are times when we’ve all had enough: enough of the politics, enough of the killings, enough of Donald, enough of whatever it is that is currently almost driving us up the wall. We’ve had more than we need and more than we can take. Those of us who are old enough to remember when politics was civil, mostly; when hunters were the only ones who had guns, mostly; and when the newsmakers, well, let’s leave it at that – we long for the good old days. We’ve had enough!

Unfortunately those days are passed and in the past. But there is much in our personal lives when we think we’re completely satisfied with our lives. “I couldn’t be any happier than I am right now,” we say with a smile on our face and contentment in our heart. But that’s really not true. Happiness is relative. We can always be happier even as happy as we are at that moment.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” we exult as we revel in the moment. Well, of course it does no matter how wonderful and exciting and fulfilling the moment is. It can always get better and it often does. That does not diminish or negate this moment in time. It is only to say that life can get better than it now is, that we can be happier than we are in the here and now.

What it also says is that in this life we never have enough. I don’t mean that in a greedy, selfish way. The truth is that most of us have more than enough worldly goods at least as far as most of the rest of the world is concerned. What I do mean is that anything that gives us pleasure and happiness always falls short. It is never enough because it can never be enough.

In this life we are given just a glimpse of what real happiness, true pleasure really is. That’s the way God intended it to be. That is why the happiness and joy and pleasure we find in this life, as good and as great as it is, can never be enough. Something in us desires more, whether we are even aware of this desire or not.

In fact, thankfully, sometimes we do become aware of the failings of the pleasures of this life. That piece of chocolate cake that looked so mouth-watering did not turn out to be as good as we thought it would be. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t delicious. It does mean that it could have been better – as with everything and everyone in this life.

St. Augustine’s observation that our hearts are restless until they rest in God only proves the point. We believe that God created us to seek happiness and pleasure in this life but in the pursuit of such discover that what we find is never enough. We want more. We need more and believe that that more will come, not in this life but only in the life to come when we are with God forever.

We will never have enough joy, happiness, pleasure in this life but we are thankful for what we have. But we also know that something more, something better, something eternal awaits us. Knowing that is enough.