With Thanksgiving coming up, I’ve done a lot of thinking about gratitude and abundance. It’s in the place of abundance that I always feel the most peace and love. So, when possible, I try to get to that place as often as I can. Loving what we already have is important, however, love for ourselves is really, really important, too. You’ll invite so much abundance when you want what you already have and want what you already are.
The Big Room Rearrangement
A few weekends ago we did some rearranging of our kid’s bedrooms, in addition to our normal Saturday chores and cleaning.
Both my younger daughters had decided they wanted their own rooms.
I decided, great… the timing seems about right.
Let’s do this.
So we did.
We Made Space for New Things
We started moving beds and dressers and clothes from different closets.
We cleared out old things and after that, made space for new things.
We worked really hard… until at the end of the day my daughters said to me:
I Want…
“I want new bedding. I also want different pictures on the wall. I want a rug. And I also want a different bedside table.”
Now… these girls are nine and thirteen. They have dreams about what a perfect room would look like. They’ve pinned many a cute room on Pinterest and so, all of this makes sense.
I told them, that we would work towards that. But, eventually.
Wanting What You Already Have
But, for now… I told them, we needed to get good at wanting what we already have and where we are right now.
It was super interesting to me as a Life Coach to notice what was going on with them.
Typically, our caveman brain’s default is comparison and lack.
It does this as a form of protection.
So, as their mom…. I didn’t go into freak out mode… thinking they were so ungrateful or something. However, I just watched their brains, totally normal, acting like normal brains do.
And what I got to thinking was this:
Our brains do this same thing with ourselves!
Perfect Pinterest Version of Us
We have dreams about what a perfect life, or a perfect version of us would look like. In addition, we have mental Pinterest boards for what we should look like, act like, sound like, and be like.
We start metaphorically moving things around, clean out old closets, make space for new things and work really hard…
Only to find that WE STILL want something different for our lives or for ourselves.
Like a different trial, or a different companion, or a different temptation.
Or maybe…
WE want to be more spiritual, or better at a particular skill, or more Christlike in some way.
Stop Wishing You or Your Life Were Different
But, the MOST abundance and progress towards the things that you desire come when you…
You can stop wishing that you or your life were different. You are perfect exactly where you are and who you are. In other words, you have absolute worth right this very minute. (read more about worth here).
Want what you already have.
And want what you already are.
It looks like this:
- I want my messy room (because that means I have belongings that make it messy)
- I want the stress that comes from opening a new area (because that means we are OPENING A NEW AREA!!)
- I want to struggle in online school (because that means I’m privileged enough to live in a place and time where online school is even a thing).
- I want my anxiety and my frustration and my worry (because that means my caveman brain is working EXACTLY the way it is supposed to).
Go ahead and make a list of all the things you want. And, this one time… make sure it’s a list of things you already have and things you already are.
Want what you already have.
Want what you already are.
It’s from that place of abundance and acceptance that you
Will truly find what you want.
It’ll be sitting right in front of you.
And the rest…
Will just be gravy.
