Reading Notes
1 Minute Read | Laptop or Tablet Recommended
Topics and Themes
A conversation between Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller; More vs enough.
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The well-known American authors Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller once had a remarkable conversation about money. It encapsulated how Americans value growth to the point of idolizing it.
Here’s the story:
Vonnegut and Heller were at a party hosted by a billionaire. When Kurt Vonnegut discovered how much money the billionaire raked in the previous day, he couldn’t resist needling Heller.
Vonnegut peppered Heller with this question: “How does it make you feel to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel Catch-22 has earned in its entire history?”
Heller smiled and said, "I've got something he can never have."
Kurt Vonnegut was intrigued. “What on earth can that be, Joe?”
Heller responded, "The knowledge that I've got enough."
I’ve heard this story many times, in many forms. I love it. I appreciate the economy and authority of Heller’s reply. His contentment with his own financial situation was clear, and his response also served as a subtle critique of a culture that often equates self-worth with financial success.
Heller’s response also shows how we might be doing ourselves a great disservice by chasing more money at the expense of our time. Don’t get me wrong. We all need money to survive. But there comes a point where we can go too far, where we would willingly trade away the finite resource of time in the relentless pursuit of more and more money that we might not actually need. We don’t have a lot of time in our short lives. It’s important to use it wisely.
Hats off to you Joseph Heller. Thank you for reminding me (us?) of a balanced, kind, and self-compassionate word… A word that brings the importance of conserving our limited time back into sharp focus:
“Enough.”