Trusting Abundance

The women in my family have a certain myth they pass along to each new generation. (Myth as in: "a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon.") When recalling memories of her life, my maternal grandmother was fond of concluding that she didn't know why, "but everything always turns out wonderfully for our family."

My mother has a deep belief in her own direct access to all she could ever want or need.  She literally believes all she has to do is ask, and the universe will provide. Lest you think these optimists never knew hardship, there was an alcoholic husband/father, my mother's debilitating chronic disease which began in childhood, and the death of my mother's fiancé in a military accident during the Vietnam War. These are certainly woman who could have found evidence that life doesn't really meet their needs abundantly, but the myth, the story they tell themselves, shapes the way they interpret events.

I believe there may have been an abundance myth held ubiquitously among prehistoric humanity. With a 190,000 year history of "simple" foraging societies (recall these do not store or process the food they collect) it seems likely these men and women held an unwavering belief that there was enough to go around. They were right of course; population levels were so low there was literally an abundance of new land to explore, new bounty ripe for the taking by our perceptive species. Foraging life is neither labor- nor time-intensive relative to agriculture (or the modern American workweek), so prehistoric peoples enjoyed ample leisure and socializing,  too. Add to that their abundant and guilt-free sexuality and the egalitarian safety net provided by the tribe (resources are distributed evenly among all) and you can imagine the absolute faith they would have in abundance.

Approaching from a different perspective, one could find evidence that in fact prehistoric peoples lived in great poverty and that modern humans enjoy much more abundance than primitive humans ever did.  But while trust in abundance was a foundational lifeview for preagricultural man, despite our copious luxuries "modern" man seems to operate based on an assumption of shortage.

Trust in abundance is transformational, lubricating generosity, playfulness, present-moment focus, hedonism, and joyfulness. Believing in scarcity is transformational, too, making selfishness, fear, hording and even violence rational choices. If you review your personal history, you can find evidence for either belief.  Your life, your happiness, your impact...all hinge on what you chose to find.