He Says, She Says… Abundance: A Fresh Perspective

Hello Dear Reader:

We wrote a ‘He Says, She Says…‘ blog post a while back on ‘The Elephant in the Room‘. The ‘elephant’ in that case was money.  However, we recently rediscovered Bashar‘s talk on ‘Abundance‘, and that brought the idea back for us but in a different way.  Bashar defines abundance as:

“Abundance: The ability to do what you need to do when you need to do it. Period. Did you hear anything in that definition that said anything about money?”

Mike and I have both been considering the implications of such a simple concept – simple and yet radical at the same time. Though normally each of us would write about our own individual interpretations of our He Says, She Says topic, since I’ve been working full-time and away from home, Mike has been flying solo on a few of our dicussions with me reviewing and editing before posting.

Well, today the roles are reversed and it’s me doing the writing, with Mike doing a review and edit. Turn about is, after all, fair play!

So … back to our quote:

“Abundance: The ability to do what you need to do when you need to do it. Period. Did you hear anything in that definition that said anything about money?”

Two scenarios – both related to movies we’ve recently seen again: Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell and Star Trek: Insurrection. Though you may find it odd to compare these two, I do hope you’ll stay with me here.

In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray finds himself reliving the same day over and over and over again. Every morning he awakes on February 2nd, and every night all failures (including bank robbery and death!) are wiped clean. Initially his life is mundane and boorish and his purpose for existence is to bed the character portrayed by Andie MacDowel. But after what you realize must be months of repeating the same day, (all unsuccessful in his attempts to win and woo MacDowell) he becomes an intelligent, talented and caring man, beloved by the people of the small town. Once he gets to this point in his life, he no longer seeks satisfaction from the MacDowell character – his life is rich without her. Only then does ‘fate’ intervene to bring the two of them together.

In the Star Trek movie, the people from this magical planet live rich lives well up to over 700 years – that second zero was intentional! There is no money in this society, yet everyone does anything and everything that they have ever dreamed of doing. If it is a thought or passion, they know they can do it, and they follow through on these dreams! These people are rich in talent, creativity, and self-satisfaction. Nothing stops them from completing their goals and each person in their society supports the success and achievements of all others. This year they might choose to study to become a doctor, next year might delve into pottery to the point of mastery, then tackle and perfect a new style of fabric, move on to become a chef … the options are limitless and the success to the point of mastery is a given!

In case you do not see where I’m taking this thought in relation to our topic … there is no ‘working for money’ in either movie. Bill Murray’s character finds ways to take piano lessons till he is a master pianist. He becomes a doctor and helps the people of this town in innumerable ways by caring about them as individuals – right down to the local street person who repeatedly dies every day till Murray finds a way to save his life! In Star Trek, the wellbeing of each individual in this utopian society is paramount … and the peace and beauty – both externally and internally – is tangible. Each person gives of themselves to enhance and support the community.

To consider a life of abundance without consideration of money as we know it in our society today is a radical concept! Yet as I’ve been playing with the idea of this as an option in my life, I have been finding magical scenarios popping up and providing me with physical expressions of abundance yet without the need of my having finances to ‘buy’ them.

Here are some simple examples:

* while awaiting our local library’s purchase of a book that I want to borrow in order to read, a co-worker brings her copy in for me to enjoy without having been asked – nor did we ever even talk together about my interest in it … she said she just ‘thought’ I’d enjoy it! YES!

* wanting the latest Abraham-Hicks book and CD: Getting into the Vortex yet not having the funds to provide it for myself, it arrived in the guise of an unexpected gift from a friend who claims she ordered two (bless her beautiful heart!).

* at a time when I find myself looking within to determine a healthy and contrasting perspective between my comfort in a small living space versus the more expansive and potentially labour intensive demands of residing in a larger home, a friend calls to see if we can house-sit her comparatively much larger house for 3 weeks!

Though simple examples, I think you get the idea that my life is filling up with magical expressions of abundance in marvelous ways that do NOT require the having of money as the prime prerequisite for their appearance in my life.

So let us review that quote one more time:

“Abundance: The ability to do what you need to do when you need to do it. Period. Did you hear anything in that definition that said anything about money?”

How does this quote sit with you? Where does the thought take you? Does it resonate well? Does it challenge your current concepts? Does it inspire you? I’d be delighted to hear from you … I encourage you to leave a comment below!

In Light and Laughter,

Marcia

2 Replies to “He Says, She Says… Abundance: A Fresh Perspective”

  1. p. wiinholt

    I think that the key word in the quote is "need". I have a colleague who is young and healthy and intelligent and good looking… he has lots going for him. And yet he seems perpetually unhappy because he is focusing on the things he doesn't have, such as an intense relationship, financial success (as he defines it), meaning in his life… Nobody's life is perfect, but when we define our needs at some unattainable or conflicting level, then we are only accentuating the negatives and stacking the deck against happiness. And, of course, these needs are fed and fanned by the commercialism by which we are surrounded and the media messages which can permeate our days, making our "wants" into "needs".

    Reply
    1. wolfnowl

      Hi Peter:

      Thanks for dropping by our little corner of the 'net! I think the challenge with separating our desires into 'wants' v.s. 'needs' is that we begin with a limiting idea – that it's only possible to have so much. From that perspective we begin to allocate possible resources into those things we 'need' and give them priority, and only then do we look at what's left over (if anything) and decide what we can get from our 'want' list. One idea counter to this is the 'pay yourself first' concept advocated by Abraham and others. Further to that, when we begin to look at ourselves as being truly infinite, then everything in 'my' world is my creation and therefore 'mine' in a sense. When all of the world belongs to you, then the perspective shifts. For one, if you already 'have' everything, then you don't 'need' anything. If you don't 'need' anything, then what you have left are your desires. And when you accept within yourself that it's okay to have those desires, you begin to enjoy the process of working to achieve or experience them. When you get there, you can find that you don't want as much as you once did. It reminds me of the child in the grocery store who is constantly asking a parent, "Can I have…?" "No." "Can I have…?" "No." "Can I have…?" "No." "Can I have…?" "No." "Can I have…?" "No." "Can I have…?" "No." "Can I have…?" "No." The child doesn't necessarily want EVERYTHING s/he asks for, but has become so accustomed to hearing 'No' to everything that s/he's adopted a 'scattergun' approach, hoping against hope that the next request might lead to a 'Yes'. What the child really 'needs' is to know that 'Yes' is possible, even normal.

      My $0.02

      Love,
      Mike.

      Reply

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