Where Is The Plenty?

A-bun-dance / əˈbəndəns / (noun): A very large quantity of something; An extremely plentiful or over-sufficient quantity or supply; overflowing fullness; affluence; wealth; an ample quantity; relative degree of plentifulness.

We get up, we go to work, we provide for our family, we eat and drink, we seek happiness when/where we can, we vacation to relieve stress, we save for retirement and look forward to that phase in life when we don’t have to work anymore, we seek purpose and meaning in life as best as we can along the way. For most, that’s life. So where is the abundance? When people speak about having abundance, what is it in their life that is overflowing? That is plentiful? Well, some people just flat-out have a shit ton of money. And because of that they are monetarily wealthy or affluent. But believe it or not, they could very well be the most miserable people on Earth. It’s my belief the key to true fulfillment is finding abundance outside of monetary wealth…outside of material possessions. What follows are three areas of YOUR abundance, as I see it:

Abundance in POTENTIAL

“Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action.” - Orison Swett Marden

Our ancestors in the year 200 AD, sitting in their Roman Empire, had all of the resources to create the iPhone 6 Plus…but did not possess the know-how to build it. For so long we sat in spaces dimly lit by candlelight because we had yet to possess the understanding of harnessing electricity even though it was right there in the sky dancing in front of us. The Universe is ripe with infinitely abundant potential. And there it sits…ready to be engaged by those willing to leverage the powers slumbering inside. That’s such a delicious thought! Anything is possible. The future literally resides in the Mind of Life. In YOUR mind. So let your curiosity run rampant. Keep building working knowledge and awareness of anything and everything to enable those strokes of brilliance that turn Universal potential into reality. Take time to sit in rest…allow connections to be formed and those beautiful internal messages to be heard. Harness your power. Imagine what may be dancing in front of you right now…just waiting for you to transform our world.

Abundance in CHOICE

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Choice is one of the most powerful gifts we’ve been given as conscious, living beings. We literally have the power to choose at every step in life. Too often we put constraints in our own way: I can’t take a trip to Australia this year because… I can’t quit my job because… I can’t quit drinking because… I can’t move out West because… I’ll never visit Asia because…

I’ll never get that job because…

It’s in your power to eliminate what follows your because. Choose to break your constraints...the majority of which you yourself created. Author and speaker Rob Bell once commented that if you’re dissatisfied with your life as it is…then go make a bigger, better life. You have the potential. You can choose. And it’s choice, after choice, after choice that will create your reality.

“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” - Dennis Kimbro

The best part of the gift of choice lies within our very nature: Choice in our way of being. You, as you sit, are choosing your current disposition. Are you upset? Irritated? Frustrated? Goodness…I hope not because you’re obviously reading my article. But ultimately, this is your choice. You sit in opportune moments each and every day to choose your sense of being. So why not choose emotions that make you feel good, positive, and uplifted?

The gentleman who cut in front of you in traffic then proceeded to flick you off…he presents you with an opportunity to choose your reaction. The family begging outside of Kroger presents you with an opportunity to express kindness. On this point, I can only speak for myself. And I will tell you the more I choose to live this life recognizing each and every situation as an opportunity to choose my state of being…the more fun life has become.

Abundance in HAPPINESS

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” - Abraham Lincoln

Our founding fathers, before the days of Abraham Lincoln, promised us, assured us, freedom. And along with that freedom they assured the pursuit of happiness. Brilliant, no? In our Declaration of Independence, the formal establishment of these United States, our inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness was documented and signed into formal law. Thanks men. Thanks so much. Everyday I’m welcomed to get up out of bed and pursue happiness. And boy do we do it. We get up every day chasing our dreams, chasing happiness, chasing success. Goodness, one could get exhausted just thinking about pursuing happiness. But maybe it’s not as exhausting as often believed.

Too often we view happiness as this external, dangling carrot. In doing so, we fall victim to this fantastic magic trick our Founding Fathers, perhaps unknowingly, devised. Have you ever seen that trick where the magician pulls someone from the audience up on stage and at some point asks him or her to search for a card, a coin, or a ball, or some other object? Then the magician coyly asks the individual to check their pocket, at which point said object is revealed to have been there the whole time. Well that’s your happiness. It’s not OUT THERE anywhere…it’s WITHIN YOU…in infinite abundance. You house an infinite well of happiness inside yourself!

Constantly pursuing happiness outside ourselves leaves us exhausted climbing rung after rung of this imaginary ladder. Get wise to the words of President Lincoln and don’t fall for the magic trick. Don’t interpret the pursuit of happiness to be external. Happiness lies within. And the length of the pursuit is as instantaneous as a thought. Leverage your abundance of choice…and consciously choose happiness. Choose it right now. Keep choosing it every single day.

#CassandraWorthy