“There is enough for everyone's need but not enough for everyone's greed.” — Mahatma Gandhi

At a recent art festival, I saw a tattoo that I simply could not ignore.  It was on a woman's upper arm in huge letters:  enough.  It could not be missed.  It was so captivating.  My first thought was the above Gandhi quote.  My second was a story that I heard while working at an eating disorder facility.  One of the things we dealt with were the women comparing themselves to other women.  One counselor gave the following illustration:  Say you're on an elevator.  You are feeling pretty good about yourself  Maybe you are even feeling pretty.  And then, the elevator stops at a floor on the way to your destination and another woman steps in.  You think to yourself that she is beautiful.  Immediately, any self-confidence is gone and you're convinced that you are ugly...as if there is not enough beauty in the world for both of you to be beautiful. 

We do this with many things: money, success, creativity, etc.  I did this subconsciously with art.  Growing up, my brother was considered "the artist".  He was an incredible painter...so amazing, in fact, that I didn't even really bother trying.  It was as if I thought that if I also painted, it would be some kind of competition.  I stuck to reading and writing...as if there wasn't enough room for both of us to be artists.  I still dealt with this insecurity in college when a friend handed me a children's book and paints and told me to make an altered book.  I began to realize that it was insecurity and a fear of not being good enough. 

Many of us do this subconscious or conscious comparison.  But, I've learned that there is enough for us all.  There is enough money, enough beauty, enough creativity, enough ability, enough success, enough dreams, enough bravery for all of us.