I love this book! Thanks for re-surfacing it in my consciousness
This point really resonated: “Sufficiency is a way of seeing. It begins with noticing when we already have enough. And then letting that awareness shape the way we live.”
As with so many other things, perception forms reality. What I love about your framing is transition to this mindset doesn’t require doing all that much — instead we can challenge ourselves to imagine “what if this were enough?” and then navigate our ordinary lives from that place.
Allie, thank you! I loved reading your reflection.
Posing that question — “what if this were enough?” — is so powerful. It’s such a profound way to shift perspective without needing to fix anything first. I completely agree that so much opens when we let perception shape our reality with a little more grace.
I’m so grateful to be in this conversation with you. 🙏
Oooo yummy yummy post. Lots of resonance in here for me, Glenn. For me it all comes down to the relational space. How I relate to anyone or anything (money, myself, others) is where the magic happens. (Or not. Ha!) Transmuting the drama triangle in my relational spaces has been huge work for me. Whew! Grateful. And yes... there really is such thing as enough. What a gift to recognize it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for the added layer of your voice reading this piece. So lovely to partake.
Thank you, McCall. Your words brought a big smile. I love what you said about the relational space being where the magic happens (or not. ha!). So much yes to that. And I deeply respect the work of transmuting those old patterns. It’s no small thing. Grateful we get to share in this conversation.
So much of what you've shared resonates with me. I love the sufficiency mindset. And using money in a way that uplifts and empowers is precisely what I'm attempting to do in my Substack community.
I encourage you to visit me at Words over Swords, and in particular to read two of my essays: "On Giving Tzedakah" followed by "The Import of Being Earnest." I believe they reflect some of the points you discuss. 🙏
Jeff, thank you. I’m really glad the piece resonated with you. I’m looking forward to reading the essays you mentioned and appreciate the invitation to explore them. It’s always a gift to find kindred threads through writing and reflection. Grateful to be in dialogue with you.
This was an incredibly thoughtful and grounded piece. Thank you for writing it with such clarity, depth, and generosity. I felt like I was being invited into a quieter, truer conversation about money, meaning, and the kind of life we want to live beneath the noise of the default scripts. This one’s going to stay with me.
1. This made me feel...
Relieved. Like someone had put language to a feeling I hadn’t fully articulated—that my fear of not having enough has never really been about money. It’s been about control, worth, and safety. The way you described sufficiency as a perspective rather than a metric was a gentle but powerful shift.
2. This idea reminds me of...
The First Noble Truth in Buddhism: suffering arises when reality doesn’t meet expectation. And for so many of us, “enough” is always an expectation we keep moving further away. But your writing—and Twist’s insight—suggest that maybe art, presence, and sufficiency can temporarily bridge that gap. Like the Eagle and the Condor, perhaps money isn’t the problem—it’s when we fly only with one wing.
3. This is something I’ll be sitting with...
“The antidote to scarcity is not more—it’s connection.”
That idea challenges a deeply wired instinct in me. I’ve been conditioned to view independence as strength, and accumulation as protection. But what if true safety comes from trust—not in the system, but in each other?
Would love to hear more of your reflections on the integration of spiritual values and material realities. This essay was a true act of service. Thank you.
I’m so grateful this piece met you in that quieter place beneath the noise. It means a lot to know it brought relief, and that it helped give shape to a feeling you hadn’t yet named. That’s the highest hope I have when writing.
I smiled when you mentioned the First Noble Truth. I’ve been immersed in Bhikkhu Bodhi’s ‘Noble Truths, Noble Path’ and several other Buddhist texts lately. I hadn’t referenced any of them directly in this article, but I’m glad the thread made its way through. The line you wrote: “perhaps money isn’t the problem, it’s when we fly only with one wing.” I love that! What great imagery.
That instinct to seek safety through independence and accumulation runs deep in me too. But like you, I’m beginning to understand that real safety may come not from control, but from relationship. From a kind of trust that isn’t naive, but based more in a quiet confidence.
I’m honored by your presence in this conversation, and I look forward to exploring the intersection of spiritual values and material realities together. Grateful for your reflection and for your generous heart.
I love this book! Thanks for re-surfacing it in my consciousness
This point really resonated: “Sufficiency is a way of seeing. It begins with noticing when we already have enough. And then letting that awareness shape the way we live.”
As with so many other things, perception forms reality. What I love about your framing is transition to this mindset doesn’t require doing all that much — instead we can challenge ourselves to imagine “what if this were enough?” and then navigate our ordinary lives from that place.
Allie, thank you! I loved reading your reflection.
Posing that question — “what if this were enough?” — is so powerful. It’s such a profound way to shift perspective without needing to fix anything first. I completely agree that so much opens when we let perception shape our reality with a little more grace.
I’m so grateful to be in this conversation with you. 🙏
“Sufficiency is not a number, it’s a perspective” — and perhaps the only perspective that can save us! Gorgeous thoughts, beautifully woven. 🙏
So true. Thank you, Abby. 🙏
Oooo yummy yummy post. Lots of resonance in here for me, Glenn. For me it all comes down to the relational space. How I relate to anyone or anything (money, myself, others) is where the magic happens. (Or not. Ha!) Transmuting the drama triangle in my relational spaces has been huge work for me. Whew! Grateful. And yes... there really is such thing as enough. What a gift to recognize it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for the added layer of your voice reading this piece. So lovely to partake.
Thank you, McCall. Your words brought a big smile. I love what you said about the relational space being where the magic happens (or not. ha!). So much yes to that. And I deeply respect the work of transmuting those old patterns. It’s no small thing. Grateful we get to share in this conversation.
So much of what you've shared resonates with me. I love the sufficiency mindset. And using money in a way that uplifts and empowers is precisely what I'm attempting to do in my Substack community.
I encourage you to visit me at Words over Swords, and in particular to read two of my essays: "On Giving Tzedakah" followed by "The Import of Being Earnest." I believe they reflect some of the points you discuss. 🙏
Jeff, thank you. I’m really glad the piece resonated with you. I’m looking forward to reading the essays you mentioned and appreciate the invitation to explore them. It’s always a gift to find kindred threads through writing and reflection. Grateful to be in dialogue with you.
Hi Glenn —
This was an incredibly thoughtful and grounded piece. Thank you for writing it with such clarity, depth, and generosity. I felt like I was being invited into a quieter, truer conversation about money, meaning, and the kind of life we want to live beneath the noise of the default scripts. This one’s going to stay with me.
1. This made me feel...
Relieved. Like someone had put language to a feeling I hadn’t fully articulated—that my fear of not having enough has never really been about money. It’s been about control, worth, and safety. The way you described sufficiency as a perspective rather than a metric was a gentle but powerful shift.
2. This idea reminds me of...
The First Noble Truth in Buddhism: suffering arises when reality doesn’t meet expectation. And for so many of us, “enough” is always an expectation we keep moving further away. But your writing—and Twist’s insight—suggest that maybe art, presence, and sufficiency can temporarily bridge that gap. Like the Eagle and the Condor, perhaps money isn’t the problem—it’s when we fly only with one wing.
3. This is something I’ll be sitting with...
“The antidote to scarcity is not more—it’s connection.”
That idea challenges a deeply wired instinct in me. I’ve been conditioned to view independence as strength, and accumulation as protection. But what if true safety comes from trust—not in the system, but in each other?
Would love to hear more of your reflections on the integration of spiritual values and material realities. This essay was a true act of service. Thank you.
Matt, thank you. Your words moved me deeply.
I’m so grateful this piece met you in that quieter place beneath the noise. It means a lot to know it brought relief, and that it helped give shape to a feeling you hadn’t yet named. That’s the highest hope I have when writing.
I smiled when you mentioned the First Noble Truth. I’ve been immersed in Bhikkhu Bodhi’s ‘Noble Truths, Noble Path’ and several other Buddhist texts lately. I hadn’t referenced any of them directly in this article, but I’m glad the thread made its way through. The line you wrote: “perhaps money isn’t the problem, it’s when we fly only with one wing.” I love that! What great imagery.
That instinct to seek safety through independence and accumulation runs deep in me too. But like you, I’m beginning to understand that real safety may come not from control, but from relationship. From a kind of trust that isn’t naive, but based more in a quiet confidence.
I’m honored by your presence in this conversation, and I look forward to exploring the intersection of spiritual values and material realities together. Grateful for your reflection and for your generous heart.