Blog Action Day: Abundance

Well, unfortunately I didn’t know about the Blog Action Day until today, so I didn’t have a lot of time to carefully compose my posts. So I’m going to pull out my spontaneous voice.

When I learned of the theme, two thoughts popped into my mind. They are:

1. Let’s think of solutions

True, solutions cannot come without facing the problems, but problems are not where we dwell.

True, solving this world-wide problem seems daunting, but a solution needs not be that big.

True, some of us, including yours truly, live a sheltered life, away from the problem. I cannot speak authoritatively about scarcity of material necessity. It, fortunately, has been a foreign concept to me.

True, some people dive into this scarcity head first, like my mother, who is a missionary in Brazil’s poor area. She finds it her calling. I’ve long felt guilty about not considering something like that as my calling.

But you know what? I do have a mission, though. The mission to carry out a solution. It goes like this:

To live my life with such abundance that my abundance overflows, enriching those around me.

We can discuss scarcity until our faces turn blue, yet it will not go away. We can talk about abundance, too, yet it will not realize itself. I’ve always been weary of rock musicians who show up at peace/charity concerts, whose lives and outlook are anything but peaceful. They speak of peace yet are promoting something else by how they live.

The solution is to live. Live your life as a solution. The biggest and most effective contribution starts there.

2. Solutions in Our Lives

As I said, I don’t live in an area plagued with scarcity — not the material kind. But I am acutely aware of the scarcity that exists exactly where I am.

Of the mind.

In the so-called developed societies, we have learned to systematically take care of some of our material needs. But the system ensures this by focusing on scarcity, not abundance.

You need to save, because tomorrow you may have enough.

You need to hold on to what you have, as you never know when it will be taken from you.

You need to attack, for you never know when you’ll get attacked.

We hide, we cower, we duck, we defend, for the fear of scarcity. Will to live has been slowly but certainly slipping away. We descend from boredom to lethargy to depression to suicide.

In the process, we starved our core. The gas is in the car, but the driver can’t drink gas.

What we did to get this far will not work to move forward. Feeding the body is clearly not enough, for the body stops receiving when the mind does. True, we have to feed the body so the mind can properly start working. But when the mind starts working, it’s time to throw away that security blanket. It’s time to take off the suffocating blanket from before our face, and expose our sensitive face to the world.

The next challenge is to rehumanize the humanity. To recondition our minds to act from abundance, not scarcity. From health care to education, we need to stop treating each other like little machines that need fixing. We are not broken. We may be compromised and unrealized, but we are not as broken as they make us believe.

Realizing our individual potential is the ultimate abundance. The world is treated to abundance of you — the most evolved human being yet in the history of mankind. There have been a few others before us, yes, but the ratio needs to go up. It’s not the matter of comparing our accomplishments. It’s the matter of increasing the number of people who are so abundant that they overflow.

Am I being megalomaniac? What can each of us do? I don’t know, but I would say don’t underestimate. Adversity of scarcity is clearly an abundance. A single realized individual can inspire regions of others to climb to the same heights. And they in turn spread the virus of realization. I know a few people felt inspired when I shared my business vision, and that was precisely my point. No, I’m not overstating the impact of humble little ideas. But just merely having a vision, and having shared it, I know I have contributed to some people’s walk toward self actualization. It may be a tiny half-step, but they are moving forward, not backward. The world is a tiny bit better place, because I shared what I had.

The best solution you can provide the world is a fully realized you.

And until that happens, the next best thing you can provide is you who are inching toward the best version of yourself.

You are the solution the world has been waiting for.

Do arrive, soon.

Life Insights / Realizing Your Potential   / / /

18 Comments

  2. I totally believe that there is no point going broke trying to help, and that there is nothing wrong with becoming wealthy as long as you are helping the world become better in the process.

    I actually consider myself wealthy already although it is not accurate by the conventional measure.

    1. Hey Seamus,

      I agree. Being broke is a state of scarcity — there’s no reason to be poor, just because the rest of the world is poor. I really believe that the real contribution is made through living your life true to your values. Being honest, ethical and authentic, and raising good kids. What we do to reach out beyond comes only on top of that — after taking care of our core responsibilities. Otherwise, you’re simply perpetuating more scarcity. A poor person can help poorer to be less poor, but still, you can only help those who are more scarce than you are. By boosting your abundance, you’re boosting your capacity to help, and to contribute.

      ari

  3. Hi there Ari

    When you say “To live my life with such abundance that my abundance overflows, enriching those around me.” – that is exactly how what I am trying to do. In fact, I think it is the ONLY thing that would really work (to overcome poverty).

    Robin´s last blog post..Galaxy For Blog Action

    1. Hi Robin,

      Thanks! Glad to hear you agree on this. So much of charity efforts focus on inducing guilt and playing up the shock value of the severity of the problem — I wish they realize how counter-productive they are.

      ari

  4. Ari, you are indeed WISE!!

    About 4 years ago I moved from the a small community in the heart of the Midwest to the southeastern coast of Florida. The financial WEALTH of this area is positively mind boggling. However, as I read your post, I’ve been struck by the SPIRITUAL and EMOTIONAL poverty that exists in an area of affluence! Quite honestly, until just now I couldn’t have given it a “name”, but that is what it is. It’s the evidence of spiritual and emotional POVERTY that permeates this area that causes me to break down in tears when I’m watching the local news.

    I’m so glad you discovered the topic and decided to post upon it!

    Kathy @ Virtual Impax´s last blog post..Social Media Warning: I am Rubber – You are Glue …

    1. Hi Kathy,

      Welcome to OBV! And thanks. Yes, this is a topic that’s dear to my heart — when a country as materially wealthy as Japan can have one person committing suicide every 15 minutes. Poor of spirits cannot be unpoor in physical life. Such riches, wasted away, when elsewhere people die from physical scarcity.

      I do take it personally. I consider it a part of my mission, to spread abundance and eradicate spiritual poverty. Spiritual and mental wealth is the next evolution in the “developed” societies.

      Keep in touch — I look forward to getting to know you.

      ari

  5. “The best solution you can provide the world is a fully realized you.

    And until that happens, the next best thing you can provide is you who are inching toward the best version of yourself.

    You are the solution the world has been waiting for.”

    What else could I really say now? Only that yes, you have inspired me and others to reach their greatness.

    Jennifer´s last blog post..What Reality Have You Created?

  7. Awesome post!

    “They speak of peace yet are promoting something else by how they live.”

    The above sentiment, is incredibly true. Thanks for putting it out there, for us to read.

    I love how you finished off this piece: “You are the solution the world has been waiting for.”

    Your words in this post really resonate with me. Very inspiring.

    1. Hi Bamboo,

      Thanks. It’s a simple concept, yet I can’t ignore it. You can’t ask someone to do what you yourself cannot. The most powerful statement you can make to the world is to A) live it yourself, and B) raise good children. But yet, it appears that those are the hardest things to do.

      ari

  9. Truthfully, I think one can’t really look for solutions until one has some idea of why there are problems to begin with. I believe there are two main reasons there is poverty, and everything else builds off that. One is that those who have it want to keep it and get even more; two, there’s always someone who looks down on someone else for some kind of reason, and if enough other people decide to look down in the same fashion then those at the bottom will usually end up being poor. So, if either of those can be overcome in some fashion, we have a chance to combat poverty.

    However, it’s been going on a long time, and nothing’s conquered it yet.

    Mitch´s last blog post..Blog Action Day – Poverty

    1. Hi Mitch,

      I agree with your observations. Some “haves” clearly don’t actually “have” it — meaning, they’re still driven by scarcity mentality and they feel the need to hang on tightly to what they have and get more for themselves. That’s not true abundance. That’s material riches to a poor mind — and you’re right, they stay poor in mind, no matter how much they have.

      But out of the problems have to come a vision for a solution, and that’s where we need to affix our gaze. I think the solution lies in living a truly abundant life. For true abundance overflows, and enriches everyone touched by it.

      ari

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