Day 27: Abundance

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.

- Eckhart Tolle

Generally speaking, everyone wants something, most of the time. It is the nature of the human to want or to desire. We want more of this or less of that. Such wanting is a normal and healthy part of being human, and we can acknowledge/honor the feeling of wanting when it arises, perhaps while we work toward reaching a goal or achieving what we want. The challenge is when wanting becomes a painful experience, heightening within us a sense of lack. In Buddhism, this idea is known as “desirous attachment” and it is one of the main causes of human suffering.

An abundance mindset is about connecting to all that we already do have and all that is already present. Gratitude can help us , sometimes immensely, with that. As meditation teacher and author Jack Kornfield reminds us,

“When we open to abundance, we can enjoy the fog lifting from the morning’s melting snow, and the steam rising from the hot bowl of tomato soup on our lunch table. We can appreciate the half smile of the tired waitress, the silver crescent of the moon at twilight, the unstoppable laughter of children in the schoolyard, and celebrate the fact that we are here, breathing and alive, on this marvelous earth.”

Sometimes when we hear the word, abundance, we think of wealth or some proximity to wealth - as in building “an abundance mindset” - for example, or we think of how we can attract more good things into our life. This can be a healthy pursuit, but with gratitude, we are able to return to the idea that regardless of what we want or hope to have in the future, we can rest in the abundance of the present moment. Gratitude reminds us that in many respects, we are already abundant, even in difficult circumstances.

Hopefully along this journey, you have come to see your world - our world - from the perspective of abundance: that there is much to appreciate, to recognize, to love, to admire. Indeed, each day brings forth its own gifts, just waiting for our attention.