Prosperity, Life’s Abundance and Where the Two Meet

What does abundance mean to you?  What about prosperity, what does that mean?  I love looking closer at these ideas that life presents us with.  To find a deeper meaning, or uncover a truth.  This week I want to look at life’s abundance, mostly, but also at prosperity and what they mean to us.  I want to assign abundance meaning as well as differentiate between abundance and prosperity because they are vastly different!  And a big question.  Is one better than the other?  Let’s start with what the dictionary has to say.

Abundance – meaning or definition:  a very large quantity of something; the state or condition of having a copious quantity of something; plentifulness.; plentifulness of the good things of life;

The Good Things

So, what are ‘the good things’?  This is where it gets interesting, right!  First of all, I don’t think there is any hard and fast rule about what ‘the good things’ are.  What’s good for one person is not at all good for another.  One man may seek a solitary life.  A cabin in the woods.  Another may seek a luxury yacht.  Very different versions of ‘the good things’ but to the man in the woods, he is content and life’s abundance is all around him, despite what others may perceive as abundance.

So then, abundance is subjective.  When it comes to material ‘good things’ I would say yes.  And that is fantastic because it means we create our own abundance.  It means that all it takes to feel life’s abundance is to be content with what you have.  The man in the woods quite possibly wouldn’t feel as abundant in the yacht as he would in the woods because he would feel out of place and discontent.  So, no abundance there, champagne or not.

Does Prosperous mean Abundant?

What do you take from the definition of abundance?  Does abundance mean stuff?  I would like to say that abundance comes down to mindset.  How you choose to see things.  You can have all the material things in the world and live a life without any abundance whatsoever.  Sound daft?  Well, if you place no real value on the fancy car in your driveway how will it make you feel abundant?  And, on the other end, if you value the pleasure of a magnificent sunset how abundant does it make you feel?

You don’t need to be prosperous to be happy, but you do need to be abundant to be happy.  And, the good news life’s abundance can come from those things in life that we are gifted with, absolutely free!  It’s all around us and within us in every moment.  The only thing that is lacking in abundance is our mindset, and that can be changed.  Essentially, while abundance itself is all around us actually feeling abundant is a choice.  We could argue that lack is a choice as well, but that’s a topic for another day.

Abundance Mindset

I’m fascinated by the idea of the abundance mindset, and where it relates to what it actually means to be prosperous.  To my mind, abundance and prosperity, while they can be related to each other are very, very far from being the same thing.  I want to focus on what it means to really be abundant in life and to strip away the meaning that we assign to what is essentially more about prosperity and not so much about what it really means to be abundant.  To live an abundant life does not have a direct link to prosperity.  Abundance is first and foremost a natural part of being a human being living in this abundant universe, and secondly, it is a feeling.  A knowing.  Or, even, an emotion.

The Definition of Prosperity

This is not a ‘one is good, one is bad’ post.  I see great value in both of these.  My only aim here is to differentiate between them so that we are clear on what we are searching for in our own lives.  We looked at the definition of abundance earlier on but what is the definition of prosperity?

Here goes: Prosperity is the state of being successful and having a lot of money. 

That’s right, straight out of the Cambridge Dictionary.  So, it’s all about the money.  I have no issue with that.  Money is great!  But, money is not the topic of this blog.  This is about identifying the differences between life’s abundance and prosperity.  So, how is prosperity different to abundance?

Prosperity is material focused.  To prosper.  It’s about achievement and financial gain.  Can you see how different that is from abundance!  It’s not a feeling.  It’s a title, a bank balance, an achievement etc.  It is without emotion.  This doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value, and I’ve always believed that life is all about balance, so finding that sweet spot where the two meet is the magic formula.  Taking the joy you get from that feeling of abundance and mixing it in with that feeling you get from holding a wad of cash in your hand (Lol).  As always, I’m not trying to convince as much as I am trying to get you to question, weigh up and choose for yourself.

What does Prosperity Give you?

Prosperity is tangible.  It can contribute in many ways to your life.  It can mean sending your kids to good schools, living in the home of your dreams or travelling to exotic locations.  Prosperity in essence is material. And material is A-Okay but it’s only one part of life’s abundance.  As I said we really want to find a beautiful balance between abundance and prosperity.  We want the goals that drive us to succeed and feel a sense of pride for our efforts in life, but we also want to be able to see the beauty of life and the world just as it is.  Soak up the abundance of being granted one more day with our loved ones on this earth.

Too often prosperity clouds our vision.  We forget what really matters.  We need to learn to be mindful of the life we have once all the ‘extras’ have been stripped away.  The morning cup of coffee with your partner on a Saturday, the smile from a friend when you haven’t seen them in a while or the angelic look on your child’s face as they sleep.  Makes me think of the old saying, ‘Money can’t buy happiness’ and these precious moments certainly cannot be bought.  In the end, prosperity is awesome, as long as it is not giving you tunnel vision and stealing your most precious moments.

What Does Abundance Give You?

What I want to achieve through this post is for us to not get distracted by prosperity.  When I say that what I mean is that if we shift our focus towards the abundance that is already all around us and live from a place of gratitude for what we have we are not tied to an outcome, a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  We free ourselves up to focus on what drives us as a person instead of being driven by the dangling carrot of a quick buck.

We all have a purpose in life.  A calling, a passion.  Our job on this earth is to follow that calling.  But, if we are distracted from our purpose by the shiny object syndrome we lose focus.  Make it about that burning in your stomach instead.  The whisper in your soul.  Soak up the abundance of life exactly as it is for you right now and know that anything ‘extra’ will come when the time is right.  But, for now, your job is to not lose focus.

Is Abundance a Thing or a Feeling?

This makes me wonder whether life’s abundance is even a ‘thing’ at all.  Or, is it rather a feeling?  If you can feel abundant standing alone in a forest or on a beach, then where is the connection to ‘stuff’?  Abundance really is about how you feel.  Whether that means drinking in the champagne on the deck of your yacht or drinking in the feeling of the sand between your toes.  It’s how you choose to experience the present moment.  How you choose to tune in with all your senses and bear witness to the miracle.  Life’s abundance cannot be measured in balance sheets or bags of gold but in emotions and gratitude.

I talk a lot about gratitude and I think gratitude has a huge role to play in the abundance mindset.  It is an excellent way to remind yourself of the abundance in your life and something I believe should be nurtured in us.  If you haven’t given the value of gratitude much thought head over and read An Attitude Of Gratitude Can Change Your Life.

Why I would choose Abundance

If faced with having to choose between the two I would choose abundance every time.  Because abundance includes the entirety of life’s existence.  It includes the blood in your veins, the galaxies in the solar system, the sand on the shore.  Abundance is life and life is abundance.  We only truly live in lack when we allow ourselves to accept that we do.  A lack of money does not equal the definition of lack.  We can be abundant in mindset, abundant in love, abundant in spiritual connection.  We choose.  Always, we choose.

Do I want to give my kids the best in life?  Hell yes!  Do I want to travel the world or surprise a family member with a gift just because?  100%.  Prosperity is definitely on my list.  I just don’t want to get distracted by shiny objects and miss a beautiful sunset.  And, I believe that tuning in to the emotions of gratitude and abundance create a joy within us that we simply cannot get from what prosperity provides. So, maybe it’s more of a focus on abundance first and once you’ve grasped that value of that, move on to prosperity.

Thanks for reading.  Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Steph x

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