Transforming Lack Into Abundance

“Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking,

the whole world belongs to you.”

~Lao Tzu

 

I was blessed to attend an inspiring gathering where the amazing Sister Jewel shared her secret about cultivating a joyful and happy life. Sister Jewel is a Buddhist nun who was ordained by the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh in 1999 and lives at Plum Village Monastery in France. She edited Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children, which is a lovely book for introducing mindfulness to children by Thich Nhat Hanh. When I saw Sister Jewel she had embarked on a year long sabbatical sharing her message of joy, mindfulness, and compassion around the world.

 

This nurturing event began with a walking meditation to the beach with approximately seventy people. We sat in silent meditation on the beach for some time and then returned for a dharma talk with Sister Jewel. She joyfully shared about mindfulness and defined it as a beautiful and accessible tool inviting you to pay attention on purpose. Choosing mindfulness opens up our awareness to all the beauty and wonder around us allowing in joy!

 

To begin transforming lack into abundance we must bring our awareness to all the beauty, gifts and growth in our lives. The next step in the process is to acknowledge our gratitude for all these blessings.

 

Sister Jewel shared a lovely story about writing out her gratitude for her father for his 63rd birthday. Her goal was to write one thing she was grateful for about him for each year he had lived, but as she wrote more flowed out effortlessly and she ended up with 90! Her father was overjoyed with the present and the process was deeply nurturing for Sister Jewel as well.

 

When we acknowledge our many blessings, we feel deeply abundant and joyful and our sense of not having enough quickly transforms into an experience of deep abundant gratitude.

 

Have you ever felt lacking when filled with gratitude?

 

This simple yet powerful tool has the ability to transform the most challenging situations into rich experiences of profound learning, healing and understanding. When we choose to interact with ourselves with love and compassion, and look at our experiences with curiosity and non-judgment, we are nurturing ourselves in fundamental ways. When we recognize we have the ability to transform lack into abundance we feel empowered and liberated!

 

Gratitude is the vehicle for transforming our lack or scarcity thinking into an abundance mindset that will create ripple effects throughout our lives.

 

So let’s start today by embracing gratitude in a number of different ways. Choose one of the following ideas each day to include in your self-nurturing practice:

 

1. Choose an area of your life each day: home, family, work, friends, etc. and write down all the things are grateful for.

 

2. Join Sister Jewel and share the things you are grateful for about a loved one for their next birthday present.

 

3. Next time you are struggling with a problem, pause and find one thing you are grateful for in that moment.

 

4. Go on a gratitude walk with a friend and take turns sharing all you are grateful for in your lives.

 

5. Before you eat, intentionally pause and recognize all the people (including yourself) and energy that was required to bring the meal to you and give joyful thanks.

  

I love this reminder from Tony Robbins, “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.” Understanding that feeling lack or scarcity is rooted in fear is essential for transforming our experience. When we come from gratitude we are in the present moment where fear does not reside. The more mindful we are about what we are grateful for, the more we can ground ourselves in peace, joy and meaning – the trifecta of abundance!

 

May you embrace gratitude as the path to transform lack into abundance and may you continue to nurture peace in the world from the inside out!