I want to live in Taiwan and spend a good portion of my life learning Chinese and getting back in touch with my Chinese identity. Is that enough? I want to spend the rest of my life taking portraits of people. Is that enough? I want to live my life with the people that I love and care about. Is that enough?

I would really like to think it is enough, but this question will always be followed up with, “Will you be making money?” And another follow up-question, “Are you making enough money?”

Money. How much money is enough? I understand it is something we need in order to survive in the modern world. It doesn’t rank too high on my list of priorities, but knowing that I cannot focus on the things that matter without food and shelter, I will invest enough time and energy on it to survive. That’s all it is, isn’t it? Find the life that you want to live, and find a way to survive.

I’ve had many experiences in my life, many dreams and aspirations, but the one thing that matters most to me is to spend my time with the people that I love. If I achieve nothing else in life – if my bank accounts are at zero, if nobody knows my name, I have no rewards, no recognition – I would like to, at the least, lay on my deathbed knowing that I spent my life with the people I loved, and for them to know that I loved them dearly. Is that enough?

I really hope so, because to me, nothing is enough if you don’t first spend your time with your loved ones. No money, no job, no stardom can replace that.

Are you enough?

by Jason Lam