Your Are Always Enough

Know that here and now, you are always enough.

I used a wonderful, little-known children’s book to create a day-long retreat for the students at one of my former girls’ schools. It is called “Isle of Enough: A Traveler’s Guide,” by Timothy Gillis. 

It is about a girl named Pearl who lived on the Isle of Enough where the people only look at themselves in mirrors and ask themselves questions that end with the same word - enough. Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Am I smart enough? Until one day when Pearl dropped her mirror and it broke. Then, a whole new world opened up for her, and she learned she could leave the isle. 

I still have a copy of this little gem and recently took it off the shelf. I had dog-eared the pages where the captain of a ship calls to Pearl and explains what else there is for her. He said:

For all of you who have had enough, come aboard. Our next stop, a place called Thepresent.

It can be so exciting. Or it can be so scary. It can be exhilarating. Or it can be boring. The sun can shine or it can rain. And either can be perfect or perfectly horrible. 

The point is, when you live in Thepresent, it’s all up to you.

Living in the present and knowing that you are enough are wonderful lessons to teach students of any age. They are also lessons that every adult needs to be reminded of, too, especially since adult life can get so hectic and require so much of us. 

When we live in the present, we:

• Reduce stress by stopping the negative mental loops of regret or future worries

• Deepen relationships by focusing on what is right in front of us

• Boost resilience by allowing for non-judgment

• Elevate our focus

• Make better decisions

• Lower blood pressure

• Sleep better

• Amplify joy

Create your own mental-loop that reminds you to live in “Thepresent” and always remember that you are enough. If you have difficulty with this goal, coaching can help.