All of my life I’ve heard the conversation about whether a person sees a glass as being half full or half empty. Recently, I came across the idea that neither of those views matter because the glass is refillable. This is an interesting thought, to be sure, but someone has to refill the glass. The water has to come from somewhere. I believe there are times in our lives when we feel that our glass is overflowing. At those times, it is important to look around and see how we can help to fill other glasses that may be in need. Other times, our glass may be even less than half full, and we may wonder if or when more water may come. At those times, it is important to look beyond ourselves and draw closer to others who may be looking for a place to share, and we need to work to take a lid off of our glass so more water can be poured in.
I recently heard the story of a couple who went on a humanitarian trip to help build and repair some houses and roofs in a location where resources were scarcer than where they lived, and people were in much more humble circumstances. They left their baby in the safe and loving care of family with plenty of frozen breastmilk and baby food. While the couple was on the trip, the mother continued to pump to keep her milk supply up. At first, she was discarding it because they had no way to store it or transport it. Then, in the course of their service, they met a mother who had become unable to breastfeed her baby and was having a hard time finding a good source of food for her baby. The couple was then able to give the pumped breastmilk to this mother and baby for the duration of their time in her village while she worked to find a more permanent solution. I thought it was a perfect example of abundance and the need some have to give while others have a need to receive.
In my life I have been trying to focus on gratitude and thankfulness as a way to improve my mental health. I have a gratitude journal in which I record at least three things for which I am thankful every day. As I have continued with this practice, I have found that sometimes it is hard to think of three things to write down, not because there aren’t three, but because there is so much more to be thankful for that it is difficult to write just three.
I am thankful for food to fuel my body, help with gathering friends and family, and bring delight to my senses. I am thankful that I am still learning new skills. I’m thankful for the service I can give with my hands, and for those who use their hands to serve me. I’m thankful for love, for family, for friends. I’m thankful for the beauty of the earth and the abundance we enjoy. I’m thankful for the life I live and the experiences that have made me grow and learn and become who I am. There really is so much to be thankful for!
This month our articles from our talented authors are in themselves an example of giving from our abundance. Norma speaks about being aware of how even small acts can help us overcome a mindset of scarcity and gain abundance awareness. Katrina shares experiences of how she was blessed by the abundance of love shown to her as a young mother and how even animals need love and caring. I share some insights gained from our friend Lyn on living with a terminal cancer diagnosis. Kaylee introduces us to her family’s tradition of a thankful tree. Shelli shares with us the joy of watching her children learn to dance in spite of her own two left feet and the joy of finding abundance we didn’t know we had, and Michelle takes us on an adventure with Latin as she shares how abundance is actually something we get to do.
Marcus Aurelius is credited with saying, “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” Every day has an abundance of opportunity. We have freedom to think and act, to love and serve, to work, and to rest.
We hope you will look back on this year and recognize the abundance in your life, and that you will consider donating to our cause as we work with even more international WAVEs who are creating positive solutions in their communities thanks to donors like you.
