QUOTE OF THE DAY
Two Paths to Enough
“There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”
— G.K. Chesterton
Over the weekend, Chad and I had the chance to visit a local seminary and get a glimpse of daily life there through our new friend, Thomas.
IDEA OF THE DAY
A Different Kind of Life Path
As we pulled up to the grand brick building, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. But as we stepped out of the car, a bright-eyed young man in a black robe walked toward us with a warm, welcoming smile.
It’s not every day you meet someone who has chosen a life that is both deeply meaningful and deeply demanding—one centered on service, simplicity, and letting go of many of life’s usual pursuits.
A Calling That Doesn’t Go Away
Thomas shared that even as a young child, he already felt drawn to become a priest. At one point, he wanted to become a Benedictine monk.
But his father encouraged him to wait.
Each time the desire resurfaced—in high school, in college, and later after landing an engineering job at Boeing—his father gently encouraged him to live life more fully first. To explore. To grow. To understand the world beyond the monastery walls.
And Thomas did just that.
When Something Still Feels Missing
He appreciated each stage of life. The learning. The experience. The growth.
And yet… something still felt missing.
Despite the career, the relationships, and the life he had built, there was a quiet emptiness he couldn’t ignore.
Two years ago, he made a decision that changed everything.
He paused his job. His relationship. The familiar structure of his life.
And he chose to follow the calling that had been with him all along.
A Life of Less, and Somehow More
Today, Thomas’s life is full in a very different way:
- prayer
- study
- exams
- service to his community
And yet, he told us something simple but striking:
He has never been happier.
What His Story Reveals
What stood out most wasn’t just his decision—but his timing.
He didn’t reject his earlier life. He didn’t rush into certainty. He honored both:
- the quiet inner knowing he had since childhood
- and the experiences that helped him understand himself more fully
And eventually, those two things met in the same place.
The Quiet Question for All of Us
Maybe your path doesn’t look like Thomas’s.
But most of us do have something that lingers in the background:
- a calling
- a creative pull
- a different version of life we keep revisiting
Sometimes we follow it immediately.
Sometimes we circle around it for years.
And sometimes we need both the living and the longing before we’re ready to choose.
An Invitation
There may come a moment when the quiet voice in you becomes harder to ignore.
Not louder—but clearer.
And when that happens, it may not be about adding more to your life.
It may be about noticing what no longer needs to be carried.
A Question to Reflect On
If you listened closely to your inner voice, what might it be inviting you to move toward next?
Closing Note
If you’re in a season of questioning, exploring, or feeling pulled in a new direction, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Sometimes clarity comes not from forcing answers—but from learning how to hear yourself again.