E is for Enough
It’s a funny word, enough. Look at it long enough and it starts looking all wrong. That -ough ending is always a killer for someone with English as a second (or fifth) language. It doesn’t make sense that it’s pronounced ENUFF.
The meaning of the word itself is also difficult. It is ambiguous. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/enough We use it to mean sufficient but it carries shades of meaning that are confusing.
When I sat down to write my post for today, I started by writing a poem. I stared at it and hated it; it wasn’t good enough. It had a umpty-tumpty rhyme scheme, and an obvious theme that wasn’t right. It’s tucked away in the poetry file now, probably never seeing the light of day. I’ve seen a lot of very bad poetry written by people who cannot see how poor it is and I don’t want to ever fall into that category, letting myself down.
You see, the question I ask is whether who and what I am is enough; enough for the world, for my friends and family, for myself, for whatever is out there. As the demands of the world grown ever more complex and my heart becomes sick with those demands, I conclude that I am not enough and never will be.
I think I have had ENOUGH, thank you very much indeed. <Pushes plate away> <Wipes mouth> <Leaves the table>
I think you (and I) are enough. The world is too much.
Lovely post today! Hope you are collecting the alphabet posts to publish maybe in more lasting form!
Viv, enough! You are lovely and honest and open in a way few people are brave enough to be. Which encourages the rest of us to strive to be a little braver than we might otherwise have been. So please sit back down and talk with us a little longer. There might be pudding. x
I am with silentnovelist on this one! You are there for us all. Make sure you are ‘enough’ for yourself, first. (Old stuff I know, but even well-worn phrases hold truths…) x
I like the term “good enough” for many of the things i have in my life.
Michael J, USA
On Wed, Apr 5, 2017 at 5:56 AM, Zen and the Art of Tightrope Walking wrote:
> Viv posted: ” E is for Enough It’s a funny word, enough. Look at it long > enough and it starts looking all wrong. That -ough ending is always a > killer for someone with English as a second (or fifth) language. It doesn’t > make sense that it’s pronounced ENUFF. T” >
For me it started at school. Reports tended to say good, good, good … BUT … she could do better, achieve more, blah, blah, blah. I remember how I understood this to mean that I was not good enough, and how puzzled I was by these reports.
It is difficult, though from time to time essential for our sanity, to step back from all demands, external and internal, and stand in our ‘enough is enough’ patch.
I love the Spanish equivalent – basta – it really tastes as good as it sounds when you’ve had enough…
A small boy once explained the difference between ‘enough’ and ‘sufficient’: “If my mum cuts me a slice of cake, I get sufficient. If I cut it, I get enough!”
You are more than enough for me. I couldn’t ask for a finer friend xxxxxxxx