How much is enough?
- Shannon Le Mintier
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
A personal reflection this Holy Week
There’s a question that has been quietly following me this past year and even more so this week:
How much is enough?
Not in a striving or “do less” kind of way. But really, in an honest and kind of uncomfortable way. How much is enough… for a life well lived?
Yesterday, I had lunch with a woman named Allegra. She is in the middle of a very real, very human fight with breast cancer. She’s far from home, navigating this disease and life in a country that is not her own.
We hugged and laughed with good news as she progresses through these treatments, multiple surgeries. We shared a meal and a cup of coffee.
I told her, I was sorry for not being as present as I wanted to be for her during this time. And if I didn’t have enough time for a cup of coffee with her, what am I really doing?
I left with that question sitting even closer to my chest.
Because the truth is, life has felt extremely full these past few years.
Work continues to expand, ideas never cease to flow. There is movement, momentum… a rich rhythm returning after the initial years of “settling” into Portugal. (And truly, what does “settled” even mean… with children, dogs, life?)
She left me this sweet voice message and reminded me that life really is short.
Coming from someone who has faced head on triple negative breast cancer and “red devil” treatment chemo, you better listen. But somewhere in all of that, I caught myself wondering: Really, how much work, travel, etc (fill in the blank) is enough?
This week, as we moved through Holy Week toward Good Friday, I was reminded of the story of the fig tree in the Gospel of Mark.
The story is simple about a tree which is full in appearance but not bearing fruit.
And being in an even more reflective state during Lent, I sat in my meditation of that image a little longer than usual. If you know me or have read last summers blog, you must know I adore figs.
From being a little girl in Santa Barbara making myself sick on the figs in the back yard, the massive fig at the back of our property in France to the Pink House fig tree that greeted everyone who entered the yard (it was a little wild!) - who knew I would become so attached to this type of tree?
I love watching the blooming from the smallest buds forming which are unnoticeable at first and then slowly, becoming something so colorful and delicious. The process of witnessing its unfolding through the seasons always captures my attention and taste buds.
The many meditations I’ve spent just witnessing, picking and pruning these trees reveals over and over again that growth takes time. That good fruit comes from being rooted, nourished and patient.
So when I think about that passage this week, it brings up these questions:
Where in my life am I full… but not truly nourished?
Where am I busy… but not rooted?
Where am I moving… but not really present?
How much is enough?
Because here’s what I know to be true:
I do make time for people.
I do show up for my family.
But life has a quiet way of filling in the spaces if you let it. And really, it can’t be that full!
I think about my mom all the time. She was a single parent (although my step dad Sam was always present), involved and dedicated school teacher and somehow connected in so many cultural events, service work and local community.
And still, she regularly made time for weekly dinners with her parents and Gladys, our nearly 100-year-old next door neighbor.
She didn’t wait for “extra time” and lived with connection as the heart beat of all she did. It is the point to this life, isn’t it!?
So, for me, that’s what this time of the year and in particular, this Holy Week, is asking.
Not to add more to my plate but to pause long enough to ask:
What is actually enough?
And then to honestly listen for the answer.
This might look like:
A walk without the phone or podcast playing in the car.
Sitting in stillness for five minutes.
A prayer before a meal.
A moment of reflection while doing an ordinary task like washing the dishes.
Reaching out to someone who's been on your mind for a walk or a cup of coffee.
In Whole Living, we talk about clarity coming from intentional acts of creating space. Be that from movement, in nutrition or other lifestyle choices. Also, simply from stepping away from the noise long enough to hear what your life is actually asking of you. Offering you. The deeper roots questions allowed to come to the surface.
Sometimes we need collective support to slow down enough to see clearly again. To offer the questions, create the safe container.
That’s something we will explore together in ReSet beginning April 13. This isn’t another thing to do, but more of creating space to come back into rhythm with yourself.
But for today, let this day be enough.
Good Friday. Holy Week for many.
A natural pause and moment to come back to your deepest roots.
May you give yourself space to reflect and reconnect. Take time to notice what is quietly growing beneath the surface.
May there be clarity, peace and deeper sense of what is already enough.
Support looks different in every season. If you’re exploring what might be most supportive right now, you can learn more about the ways we can work together to support rhythm, nourishment, and well-being throughout the year.
In health,
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