Abundance as a feeling vs a material thing

What we have now vs what we need later

I was sitting on a back porch in Germany, drenched in late-summer sunlight, inhaling the herbal scent of the unstoppable sage bush beside me, letting a square of dark chocolate melt in my mouth, revisiting some sweet memories with my niece and nephew I had just visited in California—feeling sad to have left my family but happy to have had such a fun time, de-jet-lagging, breathing calmly.

As all of these senses wove their way through my general awareness and physical body like little threads of light, I thought to myself—and literally truly felt it:
So this is what abundance is.

I closed my eyes, let this internal breath of fresh air sink in, smiled. I tried not to grip onto the feeling (or feel guilty about my joy while others suffer—a topic for another time), but rather to imprint it physically and mentally so I could return to it later.

Moments like this have of course happened before, but because I’ve been learning to cultivate a serious sense of mind-body steadiness while anxiously navigating a few unsteady years, this type of experience has been a bit more visceral lately.

Time-tested tools from yoga, mindfulness, and a variety pack of holistic lifestyle habits have taught me that the simple action of redirecting my attention back to the goodness and richness around me—instead of spiraling into a fear whirlpool about my circumstances—can make a big difference.

And honestly, it’s usually the little things that feel the biggest and most abundant:

• Meals on my balcony (that I have both food and a balcony is a true gift)
• Watching my herbs and plants grow, and using them in my cooking
• Books and songs that inspire and move me
• Post-class chats with students and phone chats with my US people
• Smiles from strangers and friendly employees at local grocery stores
• Feeling strong and healthy enough to travel and do the activities I love
• Taking after-dinner walks and watching the sunset

In the past, I admittedly became bit exhausted by the word Abundance—probably because I admittedly sometimes felt resentful for what I didn’t have. This neither helped me attract these things, nor made me feel any better in the meantime.

But it’s true that abundance of a thing can be cultivated. More importantly—we can learn to feel and appreciate the abundance we have now instead of waiting for it to arrive and save us, fix things, make us happy, or complete us (see also: gratitude).

An Abundant September

Each week this month, we’ll explore and redefine abundance as not just something we’re waiting to receive, but something we already experience.

This isn’t a “Manifest Abundance Challenge” where we conjure up our next desires.

Think of it as a more practical approach to cultivating abundance instead of the crystal x candle x affirmation-based idea one might imagine it to be. It’s about using various mindfulness practices—namely basic awareness and self-reflection—to cultivate an internal feeling of abundance rather than manifesting a material thing.

Bonus if a material thing does actually materialize as a result, though 🙂

Although cultivating abundance can involve new-age witchy components (I love witchy-ness), it can also simply be about practicing general awareness by clocking all that we already have instead of focusing on what we lack—even if we still desire more.

The non-material yet wonderfully tangible result might be something like:

• Feeling more grounded in vs detached from present moments and daily life
• Accepting your current experience instead of desperately striving for change
• Appreciating what you have vs aching to achieve or receive something you feel will complete you, or always wanting more

Another perk is being more giving and compassionate instead of feeling ashamed by or guilty for our abundance—something I’ve also been working on.

It’s all kind of like a big, happy exhale.

Abundance Exploration

• Old and limiting ideas of what abundance is—it’s not just about moneyyy
• How to reframe and actually embody what it means to feel abundant—processing emotions along the way
• Balancing “do-ing” and “be-ing” to attract what you desire without burnin’ out
• Three simple yet profound teachings that can help us understand and feel abundance now—concepts that have helped me shift my attention toward my current abundance instead of anxiously awaiting what has yet to present itself
• Reflection questions to consider now and throughout the rest of the year
• Bonuses for subscribers—like a meditation to feel anchored and abundant in body and mind, without bypassing other feelings

Reflect

• What’s your current idea of abundance, and how does it make you feel?
• What are you already abundant in right now?

Take good care,

S

Read, support, and subscribe on Substack.