Abundance Beyond Circumstances

I have a confession: Although I can often remain calm in the face of the extreme challenges of life, I also can get extremely worked up over moments that are completely inconsequential.

Recently I lost sleep because I couldn’t quite get my car packed as well as I had hoped when traveling home from vacation. I laid in bed begging my mind to come back into focus and for my heart rate to slow. Frustration and blame and helplessness had taken over and there seemed to be no turning back. Somehow this minor situation seemed to surface the negative emotions that are often kept at bay: loneliness, hopelessness, anger, irritation. I eventually pulled myself together, talking myself into a solution - which turned out to be such a simple fix! - and I was able to sleep.

My challenge to myself is to learn to not allow these moments to surface such distress.

For as long as I can remember, I have longed for peace and abundance. I wanted to embody these characteristics long before I had scratched the surface of what this even means. It seems that having my peace disrupted entirely and living with little actually began to teach me the mystery of peace and a posture of abundance.

My favorite verse is John 10:10 - “A thief has only one thing in mind- he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect - life in its fullness until you overflow.”

It strikes me that often the thief is inside of us. The thief tells us that we are not enough, that we are not worthy, that a situation is hopeless. If that is the case, perhaps abundance and fullness live inside of us as well.

Eckhart Tolle says that “acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” Further, he says, “both abundance and scarcity are interstates that manifest as your reality.” (A New Earth)

Let there be peace. Let there be abundance. Beyond circumstances and failure and excuses.

And may it overflow.