Blinkers Off

"I don't think that the expression that we're not given more than we can handle refers to just the tragedies in our lives. If you can't handle the good stuff, if you can't handle money, or a good relationship or success, you're not going to get it. It will only be given to you when you can handle it." 

Oprah Winfrey

I have been thinking quite a bit about Abundance and Impoverishment recently. I have not finished properly thinking things through, so you'll have to excuse my muddled thinking.


I love the concept of Abundance. One could argue, if one believed in those things, that my thinking comes from my star sign: Taurus. If there's a more self-indulgent star sign, that is more focused on pleasure in all it's forms, I'll eat my hat. Or, it could be as a result of my faith: paganism celebrates everything from the full-moon to birthdays. Any excuse, we're out there with food, drink, incense and candles, dancing and singing and having a lot of fun, giving thanks. The great thing about Abundance is that there's more than enough for everyone: love, laughter, money.


Yep. You read that right. Money.


Because what is money? It's a concept. It's not a thing like tables and chairs, or even rocks. It's the consensus of what something is worth whether it's the time you exchange for your labour, or for an ounce of gold. And if there's not enough of it...well governments have been known to print more. Before the economists amongst you jump up and down and start pelting me with eggs...hear me out and then pelt me. Money is an idea. It's a belief. As a belief system, it's pretty weird. If ever you want to create havoc in your personal/familial relationships, throw money into the equation and watch it bring out the worst in people.


There seems to be the general consensus that there just isn't enough Money and Love to go around in the world.


Really?


I would argue that it's the poverty of thought and of belief, that is more insidious than any red numbers in a bank account.


If money is an idea, then poverty is a fundamental lack of imagination. It's the inability to see the riches available. 


The impoverishment of imagination causes so much of the heartache I see playing out around me. People feeling they need to fight for every crumb of love, permanently afraid and turning the fear into anger so they don't have to deal with the root cause of it all. Attempting to hoard love, withhold it, control it and in their despair, to destroy it.


The thing is, love is like money. It's an idea. It's a construct, the shape of which we all have our assumptions. Therefore, all that's needed is to unleash our imagination and start dreaming big dreams.


It's not enough to dream big dreams, the power from Abundance thinking comes from the action which it inspires: compassion, generosity, charity, gentleness, kindness. 


And here's where we could get stuck, by responding 'yeah, but Life isn't like that', 'it's not the way it is', 'it's hopeless'. At the root of those statements my dears, is the fear that we are not entitled to good things. And here we come to Oprah's quote. If you don't think you deserve or the good stuff, success, you won't see the wealth that's already in front of you. I like the thinking that says: wealth isn't only about money, wealth is about friendships, significant relationships, and the things you are grateful for.


I will have to come back to this. My brain hurts.