Gazing in the Mirror

April 21 - The Truth About Abundance

Family was even a bigger word
than I imagined, wide and
without limitations, if you allowed
it, defying easy definition. ...
filled to abundance by the
unexpected supporting players.
~ Deb Caletti

As I give thanks for the good
now flowing into my life, I gladly
share that good with others. The
more I give, the more I receive.
I experience a deeper consciousness
of peace and security, for I know
that I am in the embrace of a warm,
loving Presence forever seeking
an outlet through me.
~ Ernest Holmes

When I find myself struggling to shift away from feelings of lack and limitation, I often go into spiritual mind treatments with myself. These are not attempts on my part to change reality to suit my personal preferences, though reality often modifies itself, harmonizes itself, over time with what I have recognized and realized in doing my "work". The purpose of doing a spiritual mind treatment is to "see" perceptually what is already true. We seek words that reach the deepest core of truth that we are able to know authentically.

Nature is the best illustration of abundance that I know of. Even back in ancient times, Taoist masters looked to nature to remind themselves of reality – "The sky is clear, the air is pure . . . . We raise our heads in admiration: how immense the universe is ! We look down and notice: how abundant all things are !" On my hikes, I need only look to the trees, the leaves upon the ground, the rocks that are everywhere my gaze wanders to realize abundance is the true nature of Life. We burn a field and the next year there is as much broom sedge or more than before we tried to incinerate it away. We selectively remove trees for the health and vitality of the forest and yet often can't even tell we have removed any.

In the springtime, the frogs sing with such exuberance that their numbers are uncountable. The bugs come out and they are numberless. Before the current pandemic, we would drive into the city and see endless cars and in each car are people and walking on the sidewalk are people and in the buildings are people. People, people everywhere and nowhere can we find a total absence of human beings (at least before  the lockdown here in the United States of America). And many of these have dogs or cats or other pets. Endless numbers of other creatures – wild or domestic, not human – who also populate our world. Watch any good "nature" video like Winged Migration and notice how many birds gather at their preferred love-in locations. See the schools of fish. Try and count how many are there. There is no where that we can look and find lack, except in our own perceptions.

Our feelings follow shifting events, we've barely processed one and another comes to capture our attention. We feel the trailing pangs of regret – for what we've done or left undone. Thank goodness that gratitude is abundantly available to remind us that there is always something there, even when we feel vexed and frustrated because we lack the funds to buy the thing that we just think we must have. Do we really need it ? Will we really be happier with it ? If we believe that, then after we have it and don't need to chase after it or struggle to acquire it, what then ? How long will we be happy and what will we believe we need next to recapture that wonderful feeling ?

Each day I sit down at my computer to write yet another essay and fulfill my goal of discipline by structure and doing, until I have one full year's worth of such musings. The words come effortlessly and abundantly and I am often surprised at the ease with which I am able to accomplish this task. I do it for my own pleasure and desire. Without knowing if anyone else will read them. Without knowing if anyone else will find that reading them has some value for their own self. Without knowing if they will endure and at some distant time other people I can't even imagine now will still be reading them. I write them in a complete state of uncertainty and without truly knowing "why" I actually do it, except that I made up my mind to and some inner urge compels me to complete my intention.

Happiness is a state of being. No person and no object can give us happiness. It is true that many who possess very much of monetary worth, have very much unhappiness as well. All that having does not bring happiness. There is so much love in Life around us that we can give it away, and away, and away, and never deplete it. Regardless of how those who focus on financial things may judge us – my husband has a term "land poor" for a person has property but not wealth – yet how could I ever judge ? my life's status at the moment as anything less than – abundantly blessed ! I've been fortunate perhaps. I've known "poverty" on more than one occasion as I've traveled through this life. Even so, I would be less than honest if I said I'd ever not had "enough". I can't even imagine in my mind how it feels to not have "enough" but I have seen visual images of it horrid enough to break my heart. Living in the midst of such an abundance of Nature my heart cannot understand how can such things could be. Yet my mind knows they do exist.

~ perspective

The lie that is common among
human beings is that there is
not enough to go around, that
scarcity rules supply, and demand
always exceeds it – I simply
don't believe that.
What I have found true throughout
my lifetime is – that there is always
enough and that I always really do
have what I truly need to survive
and to live well for yet another day.
I make my "dreams" into realities
by simply beginning where I am
and taking the next logical step.
And so, the tide has gone out –
has a tide ever gone out that did
not have to return ? – I've yet to
find that so and therefore I've
faith that whatever is now will
change and change again – if
there is lack, there will be abundance
again and that will change as well.
My mantra for today came from
Geoffrey M Gluckman – "Live from
abundance; Utilize with economy;
Share in advance." – and then,
Life IS good !!

#blessings #consumerism #enough #forest #happiness #heart #nature #perception #poverty #reality