AND WHEN DID YOU SAY LAST “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”?

Walking down the Connaught Place in Delhi a few months ago, I heard my friend saying “Bala, enough is enough. I have lived in Delhi for long. But no more. So much of traffic and so much of pollution. Just cannot breathe. Enough is Enough.”

I admired his usage of the words “enough is enough.’ They were rebounding into my ears. “Enough is enough?” – What is enough? – his sense of intolerance, his sense of frustration, his inner urge for a change were all manifesting through these words. That set the racehorse in my mind running to a jackpot, till the wings of that lovely white Pegasus in my mind got tired.

Choudhry was totally upset. His blood pressure was rising. He could not take it anymore. He yelled “Enough is Enough, Mr. Das. I have had enough. I just cannot tolerate you any further.” He continued ‘I gave you help. I showed you the way. I tried mentoring you. But you will never do anything right. You have your own reasons for doing what you wish to. But listen, this is an office, and it has its systems. It is not your home. I have had enough and enough is enough.” One could read from the language of Mr. Choudhry that he was on his height of frustration.

Sharmila was pulling up her son Sibi. “Sibi enough is enough. I have given you a lot of time. How long would you go on playing? You do not listen when I say you are destroying yourself. If you do not focus on your studies, you will regret. Do you understand when I say, ‘enough is enough?’

Julie was in love with Arfan. That evening she was almost broken. She said “Arfan. Enough is enough. I have waited long. Your promises have faded in the air. Now it is time for Yes or No. I cannot bear anymore. Enough is enough.”

OMG! The words ‘enough is enough’ has taken several avatars to help so many people to release their emotions on separate occasions. Be it anger, be it love, be it friendship, be it argument, be it gossip, be it in marketing – it has taken distinct roles to communicate the feelings or to silence the people or even to trigger or catalyse people for work. Says Lance Armstrong, the award-winning sportsperson “There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say: 'Enough is enough.”

Between ‘enough’ and ‘enough is enough,’ there appears an enormous difference. “Enough,” often comes with a sense of satisfaction soaked in a blooming smile, “enough is enough’ comes in a bit of dissatisfaction flavoured with aggression. “Enough” reflects a sense of fulfilment and ‘enough is enough’ comes either as an outcome of an overdose of actions or that of ‘incompetence’ or ‘non-fulfilment’ of certain goals and targets. “Enough” appears as a language that is conveyed through a dialogue with the self, while ‘enough is enough’ appears as a language of reaction in a dialogue with others. ‘Enough’ comes with a narration of a universe that is acknowledged with its limitlessness, while ‘enough is enough’ comes as an attempt to limit a world whose expanse is no further sought after! Interestingly, the epitaph on the tombstone of Alexander the Great, who nearly won half the world, reads “A tomb now suffices him for whom the world was not enough.” – This epitaph possibly explains the huge gap that exists between ‘enough’ and ‘enough is enough.’

Amrit was returning after a cremation of his near relative. He remarked “enough is enough. I have earned a lot. Hot chase! For what? I must stop everything. We are not going to carry even one coin. Enough is enough.” But his words had only an ethereal value as an hour later he was fighting furiously on his phone for the pricing of a tender he had to submit. For a few the words really do not carry much meaning. They are just momentary outbursts. Says Jerry West, the American Business tycoon “When it's time for me to walk away from something, I walk away from it. My mind, my body, my conscience tells me that enough is enough.”

These words often show the elastic yield point to which one has been driven in each set of circumstances and when one is feeling that they cannot hold any more or any further. Though a few tend to say that such statements show a lack of empathy to the person to whom it is said, there are counter arguments also that some situations must be held within limits or parameters need to be defined or drawn for them, to keep them decent and socially acceptable.

Arguing with a boss, the trade union leader says “Enough is enough, Sir. We have heard a lot from you and too often. We need an increase in the pay. We cannot wait any longer. Enough.” The words also act powerful messages to convey the pain of a community that has been deprived of their rights. The words ‘enough is enough’ carry the demand of the privilege a community needs.

Shivani explained why she had to use this expression, “I am normally empathetic. But there are people who do not value others’ time, others’ tolerance power or the purpose for which they are negotiating a communication with the concerned.” She claimed, “possibly such expressions could be lessons for the future to either some novices or to others who go overboard to steam out their mental status.” It is commonly said that ‘a lack of boundaries invites a lack of respect.” Many who fell a prey to reactions from others are those who lack sense of boundaries. Unfortunately, enough is a term whose boundaries are imaginary, scaling sometimes beyond infinity.

Mr. Aditya, the Chief Production Manager of the company was a part of the routine high power committee meeting. When his turn came to speak, he addressed to the CEO, “Sir, enough, and enough is enough. No more increase in production. The inventory appears high, and the sales are not looking up. It will be unwise to increase the production. Enough is enough.” Everyone laughed at his comment.

The contextuality of the word is extremely impactful. It fits into several occasions. “He who knows enough is enough will always have enough” said Lao-Tzu, the Chinese philosopher. Metaphorically, it can also provide a positive intent to show a level of satisfaction, a full-stop to greed and a restful state of mind. However, the question has always been raised on ‘what is enough?’ It obviously relates to personal perceptions of the people, sometimes conditioned by social perceptions. Says William Blake “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.”

There are people who do not understand what is enough and they always chase a mirage and look for an El Dorado; and over a period they do feel they have passed through the golden gates of ‘enough’, not even acknowledging it and thus missed all the joy they could have had. They did not know where lies ‘enough’ so that they too can join the band of people who trumpet ‘enough is enough.’ ?Addressing such people Epicurus said, “Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.”

How do we learn what is ‘enough is enough?’ Says Gail Godwin, the American Novelist “Learning when ‘enough is enough’ is the discipline of a lifetime.” ?And let us persist on this for this lifetime!

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