Enough IS Enough, Really!

“At the end of the day you can only pay what you can pay…”

With these words Irish psychologist Shane Martin talks about the reality of the money stress that affects so many of us. I point out “Irish” because in his practice, Moodwatchers, he is often challenged by the fallout of the economic crisis. Too many ordinary people are suffering the consequences.

Google “money stress” and there are hundreds of articles – like these:

Interestingly, in 2009, five “coping” suggestions seemed adequate; by 2013, seven are necessary to grab our attention.

Rethinking “enough” is a good place to begin. We’re in good company, few are unaffected by the economic crush – most of us are living on less.

Where to begin?

Accepting that we can “only pay what we can pay” is simple. Though it is not easy.

Adopting a two pronged approach can help. Believing we have enough, feeling prosperous no matter the bank balance – this takes consciously minding our fiscal and spiritual bottom lines.

So much of our mythology around money centers on the illusion that if we had “more,” we would be more comfortable and more able to access our creativity. But creativity and prosperity are spiritual matters, not fiscal ones. The tools of The Prosperous Heart help people to embrace the life that they actually have, where they often find that they already have “enough.” Cameron

Let me highly recommend that you consider and adopt the practical steps outlined in the articles above. Then ask yourself: What are the real obstacles to your feeling prosperous?

If you’d like to explore them, the exercises and discipline of identifying your spending type, keeping a daily record of your spending, and abstaining from “debting” as outlined in The Prosperous Heart will help.

Author Julia Cameron takes the tried and true steps of The Artist’s Way and expands the methodology. The Prosperous Heart is a firm but gentle guide to making peace with money.

After determining your “spending type”, you will take pen and hand and construct an autobiography, analyzing your relationship to money when you were a child, an adolescent, young adult – through to the present. You learn what your patterns are and what they are about.

Like acceptance, the process is simple, but not necessarily easy. You are not in this alone. The secret to success is taking the first step – just do “the next best thing”!

If you find the process daunting – don’t do it alone! To learn more about how to set up your own group or to join a facilitated group – get in touch and register your interest here.