Abundance or Scarcity?
July 28th, 2008 by John Wolfe
As we come in contact with our real values and begin to recognize what truly matters, to us in life, we may find ourselves questioning things like materialism and wealth. There’s little doubt why those in pursuit of their own truths become disenchanted with the ideologies found in capitalistic societies. Consumerism and gluttony are encouraged from the time we are old enough to comprehend words and sentences.
As small children we were completely inundated by these concepts; from the television to the playground. And even if we lived in a household which heavily monitored how we spent our time; we were quickly brought up to speed once we enrolled in the public school system. These “lessons” always managed to find us by way of peer pressure, judgment and downright cruelty.
If you didn’t come from the right neighborhood, wear the right clothing, have parents that earned a specific amount of income, hang with the right people and so forth, then you didn’t make the cut. The message was always the same despite its spoken variations, “You’re one of us, or you’re an outcast.” So, you either conformed or died- socially speaking anyway.
I played the game for a while, but eventually opted for social death in middle school and high school. Admittedly, at times, however, it felt more like a social massacre. 
The sad thing: this mindset was not limited to the kids. I witnessed many “educators” in their thirties, forties and fifties reiterating and encouraging this same mentality.
Even as adults they were still trapped in a limiting paradigm built on the concepts of conformity, status and measuring self-worth through social circles, physical attributes and material possessions. I’ve yet to determine whether this stems from fear, ignorance or a little of both. Unfortunately, this behavior, as the norm, has not receded; it’s only accelerated in many adults and children. Fortunately, there does appear to be a strong sub-cultural movement, outside the norm, awakening to a shift in consciousness.
Now, the reason I set the stage, so to speak, with some childhood memories; is to highlight why individuals, on spiritual paths, may be coming to the conclusion abundance is bad or evil. For many of us, our initial “awakening”, if you will, came from experiences similar to what I just described. As kids or young adults, we could feel life was about so much more than the petty, shallow experiences being played out before us.
Those of us that refused to be a part of the old standard began associating the concept of wealth with closed minded people from our past (or maybe our present). And even if many of them weren’t truly wealthy, they still talked the talk to prevent their own social “lynching.” Either way, they physically and psychologically represented everything we were working so hard to break free from.
There’s little wonder why so many people pursuing spiritual paths have a bad taste in their mouth regarding wealth and abundance, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Having a somewhat opulent lifestyle does not have to be confused with spiritual ignorance. I believe it is entirely possible to consider yourself a spiritual person and live in abundance.
Many have done a great job shattering the old paradigm in their lives, but in doing so they’ve succeeded in assuming spirituality must go hand in hand with scarcity. Maybe this is also due in part to the ancient tales of avatars and martyrs meagerly existing. As we read or hear about those stories, A) we can’t be certain of what specifically consists of fact and what may be symbolic fiction, B) those experiences occurred thousands of years ago in times which have little resemblance to our own, and C) each of us is carving out our own path which does not have to follow in anyone else’s footsteps.
For centuries wealth has been associated with external power and the desire to exert control over others, in a system that’s extremely out of balance. It’s high time that model changed! If we are truly about paradigm shifts, then shouldn’t we set forth a new example in this arena as well; one in which wealth and abundance can consist of mutually beneficial, free flowing energy exchanges? If we make the shift, to where the majority of our endeavors (entrepreneurial or otherwise) are about uplifting, helping and healing others; then how can there be harm in receiving an abundant flow of resources through such honest, sincere pursuits?
This goes back to the Universal Law of Reciprocation. The more we give from a place of true benefit for the purpose of helping others, the more our lives will naturally be enhanced. Abundance, received from uplifting endeavors, will not take us off our spiritual path or remove us from our “enlightened” pursuits. This form of abundance will actually provide the means and afford us the ability to have even greater, more expansive experiences. While taking inner journeys to better understand who we are is important, perhaps there isn’t anything more important, spiritually speaking, than reaching out to others, in order to help them find their own source of strength. The more resources we have access to, the greater our potential for doing so.
Now, for the irony- as we find ourselves filled up with the joy of knowing our true nature, consistently helping others and surrounded by abundance, the less material items we want anyway. At least, that has been my experience. For the last few years, I’ve noticed a simplification process and a minimalistic attitude toward the possessions in my life.
Yet, I continue to encourage abundance, not because I want “things”, but because I’ve realized the energy flow of financial independence provides me with personal freedom along with the means to continue uplifting other people. Both of these, for me, essentially go hand in hand anyway. The majority of my time is spent creating content that is meant to help others. Without the abundance coming in from donations and advertising here at Wind of the Soul, I would not have the free time to devote to my passions. I feel the greater my platform of prosperity, the more I’m able to give back, whether through my work as a blogger and podcaster or through financial contributions to others.
If someone is completely satisfied to their core and happy living a life devoid of financial abundance, that’s fantastic. I would never tell others what they should or should not have in their lives. In fact, I’ve always disagreed with spiritual teachers that categorize wealth; explaining we aren’t truly wealthy unless each of our supposed life categories is overflowing. In my opinion, wealth is a state of mind, not an estate of material possessions. However, I don’t think shunning an abundant lifestyle or stifling our desires to be comfortable (if that’s what we want); simply because we’ve learned to associate them with a non-spiritual way of being, is necessary or called for.
When we have found the means to uncouple our self-worth and value from our possessions and status, we will have found a true state of happiness and mastery over our lives. As our sense of self is derived from within and our pursuits become more about helping others (even in the smallest of ways), then we will be capable of allowing abundance into our lives from a place of the greater good. Abundance at this “level” will not be about showmanship, social cliques, greed, the latest fads, external power or control, but instead will be about our personal expansion for the sake of enriching our lives and enriching the lives of those we come in contact with.
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