I wonder if having abundance and feeling abundance always go together? Can we feel abundance without having abundance? Here is my exploration and understanding of abudance so far. Join me for more if you are interested.
I grew up knowing I had very limited resources made available to me which in turn demanded me to make the best of it. It taught me an important skill- resourcefulness and doing the best with what was available to me.
Learning to be resourceful:
I learned resourcefulness primarily from my Dad, who is one of the most resourceful persons I know!
My friend came over to my house on a Sunday morning to do a science project for a school exhibition which we had signed up. With barely any idea of what we are making or planning for the materials we might need, we looked for my Dad for help.
How my Dad handled this situation awes me till date. He suggested we did a wind turbine project (this was back in the ’90s) to explain how to harness electricity from wind. Although it was not a working model, it was a neat demonstration model.
What intrigued me the most is that he helped us do the whole project with the scraps of broken toys we had, and he used a small bulb from the torchlight we had to demonstrate that it lights up when the fan rotated.
In my opinion, it was the most practical and effective design we could come up with what we had. My friend and I were thrilled with the outcome. We presented it in our science exhibition, which won many curious visitors and appreciation from students and teachers alike.
I ask for Abundance
To Enjoy without resentments
For more seeding thoughts like this clike here
A glimpse of insight:
Perhaps you ask me now, why is this story relevant for abundance? If you think about it, when we are resourceful, we don’t focus on scarcity, instead we look for what is available and how to make use of it.
Though the resources were meagre, for the science project, I learnt that there was enough to complete a successful project.
I learnt from my Dad, that I could find solutions in the least expected places. This is what I later discovered to be essential for innovation.
When I develop the skill of resourcefulness. I knew the feeling of having enough. It is now seemingly ordinary for most people to feel insufficient despite the availability of relatively more resources.
For example, I often see people buying something and complaining that it is not as good as the other one they desired initially. My point is that are we missing to feel deep gratitude for what we do have and experience.
Journey to Abundance:
In my experience, when I moved from scarcity to enoughness, I began to invite abundance. I see abundance as not only a measure of more, I also see it as a feeling of abundance around me.
This could be abundance of opportunity, skills, talents, possibilities, love, support etc., that is surrounding me waiting for me to reach out.
When I feel abundant, my energy is flowing upwards and I can focus this energy on creating value for myself and others. On the contrary, when I think scarcity, irrespective of my resources, my energy is spiralling down, bringing my enthusiasm and motivation down.
The opposite of scarcity is not abundance; the opposite of scarcity is simply enough
Guilt and Resentment:
I noticed a challenge in enjoying abundance. I was unable to enjoy fully due to a sense of guilt. As a child I grew up saving every penny I could and I continued this habit way into my adulthood.
When I started earning some money, it wasn’t easy to spend on things I wanted. Over time I learned to pay for good quality items, which I needed or wanted. Whenever I bought expensive things, I took a guilt trip.
Sometimes I would allow people around me to make me guilty, other times, I was so efficient myself that I didn’t need any help to make me feel guilty!
I was able to reason other people’s perspective of my spending pattern come from their value of frugality and minimalism they so hold dear. I slowly learnt to detach myself from others values and stick to mine that I have chosen to live by.
What took me a long time, is to realise my resentment stemmed out from my belief that I didn’t deserve the nice things. I held to this belief even when I was clearly able to afford them. I was then able to notice my feeling of rensentment which had piled up from early on in life.
I grew up believing that I was not good enough, not beautiful enough, not thin enough, not smart enough, not wealthy enough and therefore not worthy enough for good things.
While this mindset made me extremenly competitive and driven to prove myself during my younger days, it was clearly not serving me in my adult life. Here are some ideas I share with you how I dealt with it.
3 Practical ways to enjoy abundance without resentment:
- When you feel the urge to compare yourself with others, remind yourself to focus on your own possession and how you are enjoying what you already have. Take stock of your own resentment and see how you could let go of the past and be in the present and move forward.
- Instead of just looking at one aspect of your life, such as wealth, career achievements, look at your abundance in life holistically in all areas of life. Abundance manifests in several forms such as material wealth, time, health, love, quality of your relationships, joy, inner peace etc. Taking a broader look will help you make sense of where you are now and what needs your attention going forward.
- When you feel you are too exposed to the energy of resentment from others, protect yourself from being affected negatively. Draw firm boundaries with people you feel this negative energy. Most importantly, realize that you do not need to apologize for your abundance that you enjoy. .
Let’s Reflect:
Now in the light of this topic, are you willing to explore these questions? It would be best if you could write them down. Contemplate and see if you surprise yourself.
- What areas in life do you find most abundance? Eg, wealth, career, health, love, relationships etc.
- What areas in life do you find least abundance?
- If you feel you hold resentment, do you think you are ready to let go of it?
- Who do you think resents your abundance? How do you feel in their presence?
- If you feel you cannot avoid them, what could you do to distance yourself from them?
- How do you envision enjoying abundance unconditionally? Write them down.
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