Aging with Grace

The longer I live, the more I read, the more patiently I think, and the less I seem to know…Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly, This is enough.

John Adams

It is hard to experience the Palace of Versailles without being in awe of its majesty. The style is very ornate and a bit overwhelming. There is so much to see, you have to concede you’ll miss some of it. Less is more, was not a consideration in the era of King Louis XIV.

Being ready to say enough is a skill that affects much of our lives. Yesterday, I came across a reference to a book popular in the early 70’s, I’m OK-You’re OK by Thomas Anthony Harris. It’s one of the few self-help books I don’t remember studying, so I went down the rabbit hole of researching it. A couple hours later I had to say enough. Transactional analysis, as valuable as it might be in solving life’s problems, was not something I was willing to spend more time on.

Sometimes, as in the quote by John Adams, we accept our own limitations. In other instances, we decide we have spent enough time on a particular problem. Our life is not infinite. We have to be willing to give in and go on at some point. Whether it’s a museum, a book, or situation we are struggling with, there is no shame in saying , enough is enough.