How Much Is Enough? It’s ‘Enough’ to Live in the Now

How much is enough? This is the universal question comedian and writer Claire Berger answers in her book, “How Much Is Enough? Getting More By Living With Less.” She thoughtfully and humorously unpacks this puzzle across every aspect of our lives, from health and money to relationships and personal fulfillment. This excerpt from Berger’s book looks at where the ups and downs of life have led her.

Are there any life chapters you would change if you could? When I reflect back on mine, I vividly remember many challenging ones: my parents’ deaths, my son Sam’s illness, the end of my thirty-year marriage, beginning my solo life at fifty, and, most recently, leaving everything familiar and safe in sunny California to start my life anew across the country in Brooklyn, New York, at sixty-four.

Strange as it sounds, I am filled with gratitude for every one of those difficult life passages. With the perspective only a sixty-plus-year-old possesses, I now know that those experiences strengthened my spine, honed my sense of humor, redefined my sense of self, and deepened my definition of family. All of these challenges were enough to prove true John Lennon’s sage advice, “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

At sixty-six, I am still searching for opportunities to hang with the cool kids from my youth. Most of them are now married, in their sixties, retired, or living thousands of miles away from me. Every moment with them is precious. Time together must often be scheduled months in advance. Once we see each other, there never seems to be enough time to get caught up before one or the other of us heads home.

I watch my close friends age and marvel at how their faces, bodies, and, most importantly, their spirits remain familiar and ageless to me. I am amazed that, despite my transient life, I’ve stayed closely connected to friends from high school, college, and the early days of my career. We’ve known each other for over forty years, but in a strange way our friendships remain unchanged from our early days. Life whirls around us, braiding the birth of children and grandchildren, the deaths of parents, new homes, and career trajectories in and out of our lives as proof that time has passed. For me, our friendships possess enough magic to stop time.

Regardless of my health regime, spiritual practice, or trendy hair style, I am aware that I cannot stop aging. There will never be enough exercises, anti-aging serums, plastic surgeries, sex drive supplements, or hormone replacements to turn back the clock. No amount of wealth or professional accomplishments can stop time.

I have friends who cannot accept that they are over sixty years old, and even though their bodies, fashion aesthetic, and taste in music seems incongruous with their chronology, the truth is that for them, and for all of us, the days in our lives are numbered. I don’t say this to be maudlin. Being in acceptance can be enough of a reason for me to celebrate every new day with gratitude that I, and my loved ones, have arrived at the here and now.

Claire Berger got her start as a comedian at Second City in Chicago, catapulting her into the spotlight as a studio warmup comedian for “Seinfeld” and other iconic TV shows. Now 67, Berger is sharing her lived experiences with readers, from personal reinvention to resilience and a healthy dose of humor. Her book, “How Much Is Enough? Getting More By Living With Less,” has received early praise from actor and entrepreneur Jennifer Garner, who commends Claire for her “gentle, steady example” in exploring life’s bigger questions. And CBS’s Nancy Giles says: “It’s a blend of deeply personal stories and provocative questions that will make you think, reflect and maybe even spit-take!”

Related: Stirring Humor into ‘Old Age’ by Robert C. Koehler

More from Claire Berger: ‘How Much Is Enough’ … Time?

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