Trim The Sails: prompt

Living In Abundance

It’s an attitude as well as a lifestyle

When I was six-years-old, my family suffered a house fire that destroyed all my possessions. The only things I had left to call my own were the clothes on my back I had worn to school that day. The gift of this experience of great loss at a tender age was to witness that All. The. Things. the fire destroyed was just Stuff. In the months following the fire — my parents would eventually replace The Stuff. I learned that we had not lost any “Thing” we could not replace. We had not lost each other.

I believe this experience led to a natural inclination towards minimalism. You won’t find ‘decorative’ items in my home. Everything here is built for function. The art on my walls are the works of my daughter and granddaughters. My ‘theme’ in almost every room is Family — as photos of those I love grace all the flat surfaces.

Plus — I really hate shopping. And decorating.

This propensity has made the transition to retirement sinfully easy. When I look at my spending habits — I can accommodate my reduced income without issue.

Because Time is more important to me than Things.

Even my usual monthly expenditure at my yoga studio has been replaced with my home practice, an occasional Zoom class, and a most excellent yoga app. I find myself going deeper and feeling stronger in my practice than I ever have before. And while I dearly hope my yoga studio braves these rough fiscal waters, the gift of isolation has given me back a sense of my own inner knowing. I am more in tune with my body.

The pandemic has also helped keep my budget austere. Gone are all the experiences I loved so much. No concerts, plays, or symphonies this year. No travel or vacations to new and exciting lands. And yet, I am still here. Loving. Learning. Growing. And Joy-filled.

The running joke in my family has been that if I just redirected the funds I spend on the Amazon orders I send to my granddaughters as gifts — I would have a huge 401K. Fortunately for me, they cherish the Time I now have to spend with them more than the surprise boxes they used to receive. They, too, are learning that The Stuff of Life doesn’t arrive in a cardboard box. It arrives in a warm hug, time spent together, attention given, and bedtime stories told.

So while my income has been drastically reduced — the richness of My Life has been drastically increased.

I live in abundance and know that should I NEED a something — not just want it — the means to provide for it will appear. The Universe cannot be outdone in Her generosity.

Namaste.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith?” — Matthew 6:25–30