Do you know what “being abundant” means?
The concept of living an abundant life is spread everywhere ever since health and wellness became a fad. Self-help books and speakers talk about living in abundance but for someone who’s just starting their spiritual journey, this can mean many things.
We live in a capitalist world so when we hear this word, we automatically think of money. Money equals freedom and in order to live free and happy, we need to have money. Only when we are debt-free and have a full bank account is when we can finally sit down and say we’re living in abundance.
But what if I told you that’s not true? That this concept of abundance is not what and abundant life means at all? I’m going to push the envelope and tell you the honest truth.
Abundance has nothing to do with money.
Read this again: Abundance has nothing to do with money. Is it nice to have money? Sure. Do we need it to live? Yes. But is it the only thing that will bring abundance? Absolutely not.
In the words of Notorious B.I.G. “More money, more problems”. Even though we fantasize about a “rich” life with a boatload of money, we know deep down that this isn’t the answer. Over the years we’ve seen famous actors and celebrities who have everything available in the exterior world and are STILL unhappy. So unhappy that it leads to depression, drug abuse, and suicide. We know that money doesn’t buy happiness.
On the flip side, others categorize abundance with being successful. This goes beyond the money dream. They believe abundance is when we have trophies of completed goals and accomplishments to show the world how great we are. That’s not abundance either.
When we solely rely on our happiness on an end result, we become obsessive and think of nothing but the end result. Once we reach it we assume that this will make us happy only to then again set another goal to complete because we still feel empty. Research has shown that “when we get too caught up in future outcomes, we may attach to an unattainable illusion of perfection. We seek goal after goal, hoping something will make us happy, which reinforces a cycle of self-doubt and not feeling good enough.”
So then what the hell is living a life of abundance? What does it mean to live an abundant life?
A life of abundance means to live in the present.
We have become too caught up in the future that we are unable to focus on the beauty and majesty of the present. To be grateful of what we currently have in order to attract better things along the way. We have the power to find joy in every moment, regardless of whether it’s good or bad. Once we realize that we can feel happy about the present, that’s when our dreams and passions can come to fruition. In the book Super Attractor written by spiritual teacher and speaker Gabrielle Bernstein she states:
“So many people get hung up on the idea that joy (or abundance) comes from achievement. This is backwards! The goal isn’t to achieve something but to have fun along the way to what you desire.”
Gabriell Bernstein, Super Atrractor
Focusing on what we don’t have is actually causing more harm.
When we put all of our energy on what we don’t have or what we think we need, we send out a negative frequency and assuring ourselves that we’ll never have that. Whether it’s money, a relationship, a home, a family – if these are the things that we want we have to rethink our approach. Berstein states “no romance, amount of money, credential, or achievement can give you the sense of certainty your own joy can provide.”
Now, this doesn’t mean that we don’t need to have dreams and create goals. It’s great to want to achieve more. But when we focus solely on the end result we’re not being present. We’re not focusing on the joy of each moment. Regardless of what we want to achieve, we need to stay present and remember to have fun along the way!
That is what living a life of abundance is all about, finding joy in the present moment. Finding the beauty in what you currently have which can be the eyes to read this, the food in your fridge, the ability to sleep in a warm bed. So enjoy the life you have love. Only then will the life that you desire come into fruition!
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Til next time homies,
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash