“Enough” is an interesting word.  It means different things to different people within the context of what is being said.   First of all, it can function as a pronoun, adjective, or an adverb.   It is defined as: being adequate, satisfactory, sufficient or suitable.  It can be used as a one-word exclamation.  “Enough!” 

“Enough” is “enough!” is another interesting sentence.  But, what I think about the most is what enough means to me in my life.  I have enough food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear, and a decent place to live (shelter).  I have enough knowledge and skills to provide employment.  I think that I have always had much more than enough.  Compared to many people in the world, I have everything.  

However, “enough” can have a different meaning to some people.   It can be impossible to comprehend this, however, if one cannot tell the difference between a “need” and a “want.”  While working with freshmen in a high school English class, the teacher asked about whether different things were “wants” or “needs.”

The students almost unanimously thought that cell phones were a need and not a want.  Even if one might say that having a cell phone is necessary for a particular job, or for a specific activity or situation, that is not what we were trying to communicate to them, nor were they getting the concept.  We wanted them to understand that people lived good lives without the conveniences of telephones for centuries.  What I had learned in school was the basic needs people had were food, clothing, shelter and most important of all, water.  Even after explaining this to them, most of the students still insisted that phones were not only needed, but an essential part of their very self.  That makes it difficult to understand what “enough” is.

Today, in developed countries all around the world, cell phones have become a job necessity,  and addiction to cell phone usage is rampant among young and old alike.  I feel that it is extremely helpful to ask the question, “What is enough?” to myself.  If I am honest, I have always had more than enough.  This is not true for many people living around the world.  And for these blessings, I am so truly grateful that I know what “enough” is for me.