“Abundance is not a result you create. It is an existing state you recognize. We ask for long life, but ’tis deep life, or noble moments that signify. Let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
In many respects, and comparatively speaking, many people live in an era of abundance when it comes to things that money and privilege and good health can buy. But abundance isn’t always about tangible items; it also can be about our inner lives, including our ability to perceive existence and experience on deeper levels, i.e., from spiritual, intuitive, or philosophical orientations.
Emerson (1803-1882) pointed to these ideas in eloquent terms (quote above). Philosopher, poet, essayist, he led the transcendentalist movement, and believed in critical thinking. Looking to the bridge between people and ethereal energies, Walt Whitman (1819-1892) also explored this terrain, and Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is another famous author and philosopher with a similar vantage point. These beloved writers, farseeing and erudite, still influence the world today.
So what exactly is missing when it comes to abundance and how we perceive it? We all have probably known people who seemed underprivileged because they lacked physical resources or possessions, but it’s important to consider other forms of abundance. Perhaps they knew great inner peace. Perhaps they read Tennyson by night, and followed yoga masters by day. Maybe they were gifted hospice volunteers or strong advocates for critical nonprofits. And of course it’s possible that such individuals felt no reason to strive for outward signs of success or wealth or status.
Perhaps abundance is actually a feeling, a state of mind–an interesting way to navigate the world in unique, but powerful ways. So by incessantly looking outward for meaning and purpose, we may miss whatever inner journey beacons to us from a deeper place in our psyche. It’s worth taking a few minutes each day to ask ourselves if we are exploring life from as many dimensions as possible, or have we slowly caved in to trends and headlines and fruitless political drama?
It’s a worthy question, at least. One that can illuminate a new or different path, or point to unexplored ideas that could lead to new discoveries and personal growth. Sometimes it really helps to ask ourselves what is missing in our lives. I know. We tend to ask that too often perhaps, and then we become overly frustrated and hopelessly malcontent–never satisfied with anything or anyone. But now and then, it’s nearly always worthwhile, if not surprising, to sit with silence and a question that just never grows old. ~
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