Enough Vs. Abundance

While we were having a homemade lunch at the backyard of Diana and Lucy’ house, two sisters partners of Human Connections, a few words that came from the founder of this organization, Elly Rohrer, stuck to my mind: enough versus abundance. Curiously, all the partners we were meeting seemed to be happy with what they had or at least sparked a sense of peaceful satisfaction, like if they all knew the secret recipe for happiness. While 2,250 miles north, this kind of mindset is becoming less and less easy to find in people. Naturally right away, other thoughts and questions arose in my mind from this, how much is enough, why are we driven to want more, why money has become such a big factor in our life, or what is creating a feeling of unquenchable thirst in us.

Even though I was raised by an amazing family that always gave me what I needed, taught me to always take care of my spending and be grateful for what I have, the generation that I am part of and my environment in the US is full of behaviors that perpetuate a sense of dissatisfaction. As a twenty-year-old college student, from the minute I get out of bed to the moment I am going back to sleep my surroundings are launching at me images, speeches and products that solely push me to follow models that are not real and a path of an unhealthy eager that seems to never end.

By the end of each day I want a new pair of jeans, a hundred more likes on my Instagram post, weight ten pounds less, have longer hair, live in a house with more bathrooms, get a better couch, get straight A’s, and wish the day had two extra hours to go for an extra run. Sadly, in less than a minute all of these thoughts were able to cover all the great things that I get to experience, having an education, being part of a sport’s team, walking freely on the streets, eating three meals a day, sleeping in a comfortable bed, hanging out with my friends, traveling and most importantly having a supportive family.

From professional aspects to my personal life, my time in Bucerias has taught me so much. Instead of learning that there is poverty in developing countries like everybody think, that in nations like Mexico people do not have enough, rather I learned that richness exists in so many forms and that humanity has unfortunately taken this diverse nature away by distorting the meaning of abundance as it just meant having a lot of money. By saying this I am not affirming that nothing should be done to tackle issues in struggling communities, although I am recognizing that many of us have been blinded by the desire of making more profit leaving aside what we truly care about.

Since day one of this internship, we met local entrepreneurs, like Diana and Lucy, that received us in their houses, shared their story and proudly gave us a demonstration of their daily job. We met Tere a jewelry maker, Ronaldo a tapestry weaver and many more that inspire an air of resilience and were genuinely proud of what they do for a living. These experiences impacted the way I was setting my goals and most importantly how I think about myself. I have always been someone that has pushed herself to the maximum, willing to do above and beyond to never miss an opportunity. This trip has shown me that I was using my discipline and drive in a way that I ended judging myself to hard and underestimating my achievements. Thus, I understood that I need to go thru my days hand in hand with compassion, not only to relate better to others, but also compassion for myself. That as long as I am constantly acting from the best version of me I need to take ownership of my imperfections and value my work.

In my opinion, the society in where we live as westerners is forcing us to be and do things that are lack of purpose or just fit in a box that may give us financial comfort but not happiness, and we finish by taking away the true motivation behind our actions besides generating an income. Yes, money is necessary to survive, it is a good incentive to establish great initiatives and power innovation, though without the things that make us vulnerable and humans such as relationships, feelings, aspirations or dreams nothing can be done. So, having enough, being enough, doing enough is just a matter of perspective, how you value what you cherish the most, your capability of being aware of yourself and your environment. 

Maybe is the culture that reigns in small towns in Mexico, maybe is Human Connections or maybe is this experience as a whole, I am not completely sure, but my days here are giving me an opportunity to stop my personal clock for comprehending the world better not only to leave with the desire of use my drive to positively impact others, but also to appreciate every detail of my surroundings. Now I am more conscious that every individual has talents, ideas and skills to find the exact quantity of “enoughness” to uncover that secret recipe for happiness that all the persons we have met here seem to know. And that at the end of the story, enough and abundance do not have to compete or oppose each other, instead enough becomes abundance of the things that really matter.