Scarcity
is sometimes in the mind . . .
about 30 years ago
I was in therapy
and told my therapist
that I needed to take some time off,
as I couldn’t afford her,
even at reduced rates.
She said,
“you can always afford therapy . . .
you just have to let something else go.”
Then she mentioned an example of one of her patients
who was in financial straits,
and was offered the same suggestion,
so she gave up her weekly Reiki sessions
in order to keep going to therapy.
That was scarcity in her mind.
Unfortunately,
I didn’t have Reiki to give up.
I was living so close to the bone
that I had become a ramen eater
(I still love ramen to this day),
and was on a program
to get myself out of debt,
so there was nothing leftover.
To a homeless person,
eating out of supermarket dumpsters
(I’vc done that too),
scarcity is also an entirely different thing.
Like the woman in a post I wrote a few days ago,
who ‘turned’ her onions, carrots, and potatoes
into silver and gold and ivory,
if we practice gratitude
we can do the same thing,
and that is what I do today
it is up to us to find contentment and abundance
wherever we can.
I don’t have to look as far as I used to,
but being grateful
and learning to shift my perspective
I am perfectly content
and find joy and peace in my simple life,
and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ps. I still can’t afford Reiki,
but that’s all right too. ♥
If I approach life from a place of scarcity I am full of fear. I have lived in fear for a big chunk of my life. I have worked very hard over the last many years to dismantle this mind set, to set myself free. Most of these fears were ingrained in me as a child & were my parents fears, not mine. Many of their fears came from an attitude of scarcity, I believe. I do not want to live in fear.
I believe in the unlimited abundance of the Universe.
I have enough, I Am enough. There is plenty.
This is the mindset I choose. I feel peace & calm.
🕊️♥️
I was indoctrinated the same way, PKR, and it has been a lot of work moving past all of that. I also decided I didn’t want to live that way and that I didn’t have to live that way. Just typing that out, I feel peace and calm as well. How wonderful to live in an abundant Universe!
Thank you 🙏🏼
I believe I approach life from contentment much of the time. It saves me from an accumulation of more stuff in the material sense, and from an accumulation of more mental stuff to pack around if I were to be discontented and wanting more-more-more.
I recognize my incredible good fortune in being warm, safe, fed, and employed, and I use some of what I have to help others who aren’t so fortunate, for whom scarcity is a very real life and death concern.
I believe I approach life from contentment much of the time. It saves me from an accumulation of more stuff in the material sense, and from an accumulation of more mental stuff to pack around if I were to be discontented and wanting more-more-more.
I recognize my incredible good fortune in being warm, safe, fed, and employed, and I use some of what I have to help others who aren’t so fortunate, for whom scarcity is a very real life and death concern.
My desire for more has shifted since I began approaching my life with a sense of contentment rather than scarcity. Honestly, I easily see myself becoming jealous of other family members being loved the way that I wish to be; I ended up with negative thoughts that I’m not being loved as much as that person. However, as I approach my desire for love with contentment, I realized that the way my family loves me is just different from the way they love the person I’m jealous of. Whatever way we love others, whether they want it or not, it’s still love. Have a warm, beautiful day, everyone! 🌸
I too,
have suffered this malady,
dear Ngoc,
and have come to realize
that all is not always as it seems on the outside,
and I become grateful for the love I know
and the love I have. ♥
My Ngoc, same with care. Although for me, my root of evil is rebellion. Accepting the Traditional Asian style of care has helped me implement my adaptive style of care more effectively and given me more power at the backend.
Scarcity means I need to compete to gain more. This creates a sense that life is a competition, which means I fixate on my goal and put on blinders to the rest. It also lights up anger and fear as sources of fuel to “win” this competition.
When I am content, I am enough, I have enough. I do not need to compete with anyone. I’m humble, and receptive to the wisdom that life brings. I’m not in a rush, I am quietly observant, and I have time. My fuel is curiosity and gratefulness.
Hmm, maybe I didn’t define the way I think of competitive mode. When I think of competition, it’s more of an urge to not fail, not fall through the cracks. So it’s blinders in service of assuaging a fear, rather than surging towards what someone else has. “Winning” means being safe. It’s all an illusion, of course, but I think what substantiates the idea of competition for me is less what others have, and more what I’d like to avoid.
When I’m centered in a place of contentment I feel and know how Abundantly I’ve been Blessed. The fears of scarcity fade away. Over the weekend I was in Northern MN; immersed in cold weather but had good friends to be with and relax, just a little. 😉 Snowy landscape was quite restful. Grateful for MLK Jr honoring events yesterday. Peace & warmth to all ☮️
A sense of contentment gives me the opportunity to play. Poet Diane Ackerman says “Play isn’t activity. It’s a state of mind.” Contentment helps to shut down the left side of the brain which is what I couldn’t do during this illness. It went into overtime and practicing gratefulness let alone contentment was so hard. The vulnerability was eroding my willingness to trust–to just be–here and now. Trust breeds contentment, acceptance, I will be shown a way. It may not be the way I want but it will be the way I need. We are creators and it all begins with our state of mind. I share an essay from my 2008 journal.
Notes for my 2008 Journal “The notion that God/The Great Spirit wants us to play”
I attended a conference many years ago and one of the sessions was about God wanting to play.
That has become a reality to me. This word “God,” which is so loaded that many reject it, is merely a term for togetherness. Trillions of cells have agreed to cooperate, to play, to form our bodies. How awesome is that?
Jill Bolte Taylor in her book, My Stroke of Insight (pp68-69), speaks of what happened to her awareness when the left hemisphere of her brain was shut down by a stroke. “I shifted from the “doing-conscious” with my left brain to the “being-consciousness” of my right brain…My entire self concept shifted as I no longer perceived myself as a single, a solid, an entity with boundaries that separated me from the entities around me. I understood at the most elemental level, I was fluid…My left hemisphere had been trained to perceive myself as a solid, separate from others. Now, released from that restrictive circuitry, my right hemisphere relished in its attachment to the eternal flow. I was no longer isolated and alone. My soul was as big as the universe and frolicked with glee in a boundless sea.”
“Doing” consciousness or “being” consciousness remind me of what I have said for years: Am I a human doing or a human being? Eckhart Tolle, in his book, A New Earth says “Life is the dancer. We are the dance.”
Is frolicking doing or being? I expect it is both but more than anything it is choosing to let your self play. It’s what Joseph Campbell coined “following your bliss.” It’s what the poet Robert Lax termed, “becoming the person you were meant to be.”
The Garden of Eden myth speaks of paradise…says that God created form, the perception of self, and tell us that what he created was good. Hinduism tells this story in the myth of their creator God, Brahman. The Hindu story says that Brahman was lonely and wanted a playmate so he created Maya who the Hindus label as the Goddess of Illusion.
I think you would enjoy Krista Tippett’s book Becoming Wise, which I quoted from the other day. She has a section on the importance and necessity of play toward the end. It’s an all-around wonderful book, drawing on her own life story and the many incredible people she has interviewed over the years with On Being.
I saw Jill Bolte’s TED talk some years ago,
dear Carol Ann,
and watched it again and again,
as it was so powerful to me.
She had the privilege to experience
what you are talking about . . .
it is a beautiful testament to
what lies within,
but which we so often deny.
Thank you for reminding me.
I also love how you have put it all together
with Eckhart Tolle’s work
and Joseph Campbell.
These people know things. ♥
Sparrow, I find Eckhart’s work very helpful and was completely glued to the TV for every episode of the “Power of Myth” with Joseph Campbell. Bill Moyers did such a beautiful job with those interviews.
When I live my life out of contentment rather than scarcity, I do a better job with looking beyond differences to appreciate my root people rather than using backstage political manipulation to protect myself and get my ways rooted in fear of incompatibilities.
I think I am wired for scarcity. So when I can change my perspective to one of gratitude, I become more content. Also, when I can do this, I can feel my shoulders drop, my breath deepens, and hopefully my blood pressure lowers. Also, I tend to see more options. Being content, isn’t something that I try to achieve. Instead, I do the things that help become more content. A bit like chasing joy. If I go directly at it, it seems to fly away. So, I do the things that might help me achieve more joy and contentment and put me in a more open state to experience these things.
The word for the day is spot on–gratitude is subversive. I get to win when I am grateful because I see that no one is personally against me. When I am disconnected from gratefulness, I notice I am whinier, I feel more fragile (not vulnerable–that’s different), and I become disempowered. When I stop, look, and go there are always options and answers. I find a deep resilience. It really is that simple. I just forget sometimes.
The blessing of knowing that I have enough. I have everything I need to live this life I’m living – a safe, warm house, clean running water, a job I love, a 10-year-old car with a new engine that’ll drive me around many more years, and most importantly, I have love. Love for myself, love shared with my husband and our dogs, love of family and friends. I am so grateful for the love. With that, I am content in the life I have been given to live 💜
That I am enough. I have enough. Life is enough. Scarcity is real and I have experienced it. I live in an arid part of the world and right now snow is scarce. Today the well still has water. Others are not so fortunate. I am grateful. Agua es Vida. Peace, Love & Light.
You,
dear Joseph,
in the life style you have chosen,
practice faith in Mother Nature . . .
she too,
knows that agua es vida
and will provide as she sees fit.
Love & Light to you as well. ♥
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I have more of a genuine appreciation..
Scarcity
is sometimes in the mind . . .
about 30 years ago
I was in therapy
and told my therapist
that I needed to take some time off,
as I couldn’t afford her,
even at reduced rates.
She said,
“you can always afford therapy . . .
you just have to let something else go.”
Then she mentioned an example of one of her patients
who was in financial straits,
and was offered the same suggestion,
so she gave up her weekly Reiki sessions
in order to keep going to therapy.
That was scarcity in her mind.
Unfortunately,
I didn’t have Reiki to give up.
I was living so close to the bone
that I had become a ramen eater
(I still love ramen to this day),
and was on a program
to get myself out of debt,
so there was nothing leftover.
To a homeless person,
eating out of supermarket dumpsters
(I’vc done that too),
scarcity is also an entirely different thing.
Like the woman in a post I wrote a few days ago,
who ‘turned’ her onions, carrots, and potatoes
into silver and gold and ivory,
if we practice gratitude
we can do the same thing,
and that is what I do today
it is up to us to find contentment and abundance
wherever we can.
I don’t have to look as far as I used to,
but being grateful
and learning to shift my perspective
I am perfectly content
and find joy and peace in my simple life,
and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ps. I still can’t afford Reiki,
but that’s all right too. ♥
I love all of this, thank you Sparrow.
We are sisters under the skin,
dear Drea . . . ♥
If I approach life from a place of scarcity I am full of fear. I have lived in fear for a big chunk of my life. I have worked very hard over the last many years to dismantle this mind set, to set myself free. Most of these fears were ingrained in me as a child & were my parents fears, not mine. Many of their fears came from an attitude of scarcity, I believe. I do not want to live in fear.
I believe in the unlimited abundance of the Universe.
I have enough, I Am enough. There is plenty.
This is the mindset I choose. I feel peace & calm.
🕊️♥️
Yes,
dear PKR . . .
we get to choose,
even when it’s a hard choice to make. ♥
I was indoctrinated the same way, PKR, and it has been a lot of work moving past all of that. I also decided I didn’t want to live that way and that I didn’t have to live that way. Just typing that out, I feel peace and calm as well. How wonderful to live in an abundant Universe!
Thank you 🙏🏼
I believe I approach life from contentment much of the time. It saves me from an accumulation of more stuff in the material sense, and from an accumulation of more mental stuff to pack around if I were to be discontented and wanting more-more-more.
I recognize my incredible good fortune in being warm, safe, fed, and employed, and I use some of what I have to help others who aren’t so fortunate, for whom scarcity is a very real life and death concern.
I believe I approach life from contentment much of the time. It saves me from an accumulation of more stuff in the material sense, and from an accumulation of more mental stuff to pack around if I were to be discontented and wanting more-more-more.
I recognize my incredible good fortune in being warm, safe, fed, and employed, and I use some of what I have to help others who aren’t so fortunate, for whom scarcity is a very real life and death concern.
Barb, I resignate with you on this. Basic needs is enough for me. Everything else are extras.
My desire for more has shifted since I began approaching my life with a sense of contentment rather than scarcity. Honestly, I easily see myself becoming jealous of other family members being loved the way that I wish to be; I ended up with negative thoughts that I’m not being loved as much as that person. However, as I approach my desire for love with contentment, I realized that the way my family loves me is just different from the way they love the person I’m jealous of. Whatever way we love others, whether they want it or not, it’s still love. Have a warm, beautiful day, everyone! 🌸
I too,
have suffered this malady,
dear Ngoc,
and have come to realize
that all is not always as it seems on the outside,
and I become grateful for the love I know
and the love I have. ♥
My Ngoc, same with care. Although for me, my root of evil is rebellion. Accepting the Traditional Asian style of care has helped me implement my adaptive style of care more effectively and given me more power at the backend.
Scarcity means I need to compete to gain more. This creates a sense that life is a competition, which means I fixate on my goal and put on blinders to the rest. It also lights up anger and fear as sources of fuel to “win” this competition.
When I am content, I am enough, I have enough. I do not need to compete with anyone. I’m humble, and receptive to the wisdom that life brings. I’m not in a rush, I am quietly observant, and I have time. My fuel is curiosity and gratefulness.
There is nothing that others have
that I want . . .
a good way to stay out of competitive mode,
don’t you think,
dear Drea? ♥
Hmm, maybe I didn’t define the way I think of competitive mode. When I think of competition, it’s more of an urge to not fail, not fall through the cracks. So it’s blinders in service of assuaging a fear, rather than surging towards what someone else has. “Winning” means being safe. It’s all an illusion, of course, but I think what substantiates the idea of competition for me is less what others have, and more what I’d like to avoid.
When I’m centered in a place of contentment I feel and know how Abundantly I’ve been Blessed. The fears of scarcity fade away. Over the weekend I was in Northern MN; immersed in cold weather but had good friends to be with and relax, just a little. 😉 Snowy landscape was quite restful. Grateful for MLK Jr honoring events yesterday. Peace & warmth to all ☮️
A sense of contentment gives me the opportunity to play. Poet Diane Ackerman says “Play isn’t activity. It’s a state of mind.” Contentment helps to shut down the left side of the brain which is what I couldn’t do during this illness. It went into overtime and practicing gratefulness let alone contentment was so hard. The vulnerability was eroding my willingness to trust–to just be–here and now. Trust breeds contentment, acceptance, I will be shown a way. It may not be the way I want but it will be the way I need. We are creators and it all begins with our state of mind. I share an essay from my 2008 journal.
Notes for my 2008 Journal “The notion that God/The Great Spirit wants us to play”
I attended a conference many years ago and one of the sessions was about God wanting to play.
That has become a reality to me. This word “God,” which is so loaded that many reject it, is merely a term for togetherness. Trillions of cells have agreed to cooperate, to play, to form our bodies. How awesome is that?
Jill Bolte Taylor in her book, My Stroke of Insight (pp68-69), speaks of what happened to her awareness when the left hemisphere of her brain was shut down by a stroke. “I shifted from the “doing-conscious” with my left brain to the “being-consciousness” of my right brain…My entire self concept shifted as I no longer perceived myself as a single, a solid, an entity with boundaries that separated me from the entities around me. I understood at the most elemental level, I was fluid…My left hemisphere had been trained to perceive myself as a solid, separate from others. Now, released from that restrictive circuitry, my right hemisphere relished in its attachment to the eternal flow. I was no longer isolated and alone. My soul was as big as the universe and frolicked with glee in a boundless sea.”
“Doing” consciousness or “being” consciousness remind me of what I have said for years: Am I a human doing or a human being? Eckhart Tolle, in his book, A New Earth says “Life is the dancer. We are the dance.”
Is frolicking doing or being? I expect it is both but more than anything it is choosing to let your self play. It’s what Joseph Campbell coined “following your bliss.” It’s what the poet Robert Lax termed, “becoming the person you were meant to be.”
The Garden of Eden myth speaks of paradise…says that God created form, the perception of self, and tell us that what he created was good. Hinduism tells this story in the myth of their creator God, Brahman. The Hindu story says that Brahman was lonely and wanted a playmate so he created Maya who the Hindus label as the Goddess of Illusion.
I think you would enjoy Krista Tippett’s book Becoming Wise, which I quoted from the other day. She has a section on the importance and necessity of play toward the end. It’s an all-around wonderful book, drawing on her own life story and the many incredible people she has interviewed over the years with On Being.
The book is available at my public library and I have put it on hold. Thanks, Barb.
I saw Jill Bolte’s TED talk some years ago,
dear Carol Ann,
and watched it again and again,
as it was so powerful to me.
She had the privilege to experience
what you are talking about . . .
it is a beautiful testament to
what lies within,
but which we so often deny.
Thank you for reminding me.
I also love how you have put it all together
with Eckhart Tolle’s work
and Joseph Campbell.
These people know things. ♥
Sparrow, I find Eckhart’s work very helpful and was completely glued to the TV for every episode of the “Power of Myth” with Joseph Campbell. Bill Moyers did such a beautiful job with those interviews.
When I live my life out of contentment rather than scarcity, I do a better job with looking beyond differences to appreciate my root people rather than using backstage political manipulation to protect myself and get my ways rooted in fear of incompatibilities.
I think I am wired for scarcity. So when I can change my perspective to one of gratitude, I become more content. Also, when I can do this, I can feel my shoulders drop, my breath deepens, and hopefully my blood pressure lowers. Also, I tend to see more options. Being content, isn’t something that I try to achieve. Instead, I do the things that help become more content. A bit like chasing joy. If I go directly at it, it seems to fly away. So, I do the things that might help me achieve more joy and contentment and put me in a more open state to experience these things.
Charlie, I relate.
🙏
The word for the day is spot on–gratitude is subversive. I get to win when I am grateful because I see that no one is personally against me. When I am disconnected from gratefulness, I notice I am whinier, I feel more fragile (not vulnerable–that’s different), and I become disempowered. When I stop, look, and go there are always options and answers. I find a deep resilience. It really is that simple. I just forget sometimes.
Avril, I hear you!
I really resonate with your 3rd full sentence. Thanks for your wisdom and honest reflection.
The blessing of knowing that I have enough. I have everything I need to live this life I’m living – a safe, warm house, clean running water, a job I love, a 10-year-old car with a new engine that’ll drive me around many more years, and most importantly, I have love. Love for myself, love shared with my husband and our dogs, love of family and friends. I am so grateful for the love. With that, I am content in the life I have been given to live 💜
Perspective
That I am enough. I have enough. Life is enough. Scarcity is real and I have experienced it. I live in an arid part of the world and right now snow is scarce. Today the well still has water. Others are not so fortunate. I am grateful. Agua es Vida. Peace, Love & Light.
You,
dear Joseph,
in the life style you have chosen,
practice faith in Mother Nature . . .
she too,
knows that agua es vida
and will provide as she sees fit.
Love & Light to you as well. ♥