Scarcity is the deep belief that no matter how much we have, it is not enough. Therefore, more scale and growth is always required. Grow or die. The system of scarcity feeds on itself.
Alternatively to believe in abundance is to believe that we have enough … Even in the wilderness of an uncertain future. This thinking is a stretch of the imagination. It envisions social relationships in a different world, in a manna-based culture.[1]
Try a shift of imagination. Notice in your home, business or an association or church you belong to. How is the story most often told about that place – is the story one of “grow or die” or “uncertain but abundant?” Do you see your fellow citizens as taking away the goodness of your community or contributing goodness in their own forms of generosity?
It is true that financial or physical insecurity belong to the realm of the unknown, seeming to lurk around the corner. That uncertainty is their power, if you feed it. In the face of such uncertainty, is there a way that you could choose, instead, to feed the possibility of abundance? Could you share a spare vegetable from the garden, loan someone a book or tool, offer an unused coupon or event ticket, or even a few hours of your time?
How might you sow seeds of abundant thinking this week?
[1] Block, Peter. An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture (p. 9). Wiley. Kindle Edition.
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