#33 Abundance
Scarcity seems to have a hold on our lives much of the time—scarcity of resources, money, space, time, skill. Whatever we need, it feels like we don’t have enough. The things that we have so obviously in abundance—shoe styles, beauty products, packaging, toothpaste and cell phone choices, TV channels—don’t seem to make our lives better. The true life-giving abundance that surrounds us can be hard to see---yet I’ve had such a concentrated dose of it recently that I can’t help but notice.
I was digging in the big front flower bed of our community garden last Saturday, trying to bring some order to that profusion of life. Just as I was asking an elder member her advice about getting rid of plants that had spread too far, a big yellow bus let out a crowd of would-be gardeners who had come to learn from our model. She told them that we had flowers to give away, and soon I was wrapping plants that had been destined for the compost in newspaper and putting them into eager, grateful hands. Our overabundance was transformed into their treasure.
Soon after, I was spending time with a young woman and her toddler and newborn. As the toddler explored the sidewalk in front of the house, an older neighbor came by and greeted this little family with enormous warmth. He engaged directly with the toddler, bringing a big smile to that serious face, and walking on down the street he turned back to wave at intervals until he was completely inside his door. To me, a stranger to the neighborhood, it was a stunning act of gratuitous kindness—a gift of value to that overstretched young mother, yet one that appeared to leave him no poorer. Our attention is a precious and ever-renewable resource.
At a recent community greening workday I met a woman who lives in the African American neighborhood that lies just beyond mine. She was eager to do more work on a project dear to my heart, and I’ve since made a call and a visit—and acquired a new friend. I can’t help but notice the abundance of potential for human connection in this world.
On a somewhat different note, finding our restaurant of choice closed, my husband and I ended up instead at a little hole-in-the-wall with Japanese food and take-out beer. We were treated to a sweet sermon by a friendly drunk and authentic Japanese working class fare, a first for us in the city (on both counts). If we keep our eyes open and are ready for the most unlikely possibilities, an abundance of adventure is waiting to be had.
Most recently, I’ve had the privilege of attending a conference on regional equity—making our city/suburb/farm regions work in terms of jobs and housing for everyone. Here were hundreds of people from all over the country—activists, funders, politicians, business people—passionate, articulate and effective—all working on issues of equality and justice. What a pleasure to witness this abundance of commitment and energy for issues that are not my direct work but are dear to my heart.
There is real scarcity in this world. But we are also surrounded by life-giving plenty that most of us rarely notice. To address the scarcity well, we need to root ourselves in that abundance.
Pamela Haines
Philadelphia, PA 5/05
I was digging in the big front flower bed of our community garden last Saturday, trying to bring some order to that profusion of life. Just as I was asking an elder member her advice about getting rid of plants that had spread too far, a big yellow bus let out a crowd of would-be gardeners who had come to learn from our model. She told them that we had flowers to give away, and soon I was wrapping plants that had been destined for the compost in newspaper and putting them into eager, grateful hands. Our overabundance was transformed into their treasure.
Soon after, I was spending time with a young woman and her toddler and newborn. As the toddler explored the sidewalk in front of the house, an older neighbor came by and greeted this little family with enormous warmth. He engaged directly with the toddler, bringing a big smile to that serious face, and walking on down the street he turned back to wave at intervals until he was completely inside his door. To me, a stranger to the neighborhood, it was a stunning act of gratuitous kindness—a gift of value to that overstretched young mother, yet one that appeared to leave him no poorer. Our attention is a precious and ever-renewable resource.
At a recent community greening workday I met a woman who lives in the African American neighborhood that lies just beyond mine. She was eager to do more work on a project dear to my heart, and I’ve since made a call and a visit—and acquired a new friend. I can’t help but notice the abundance of potential for human connection in this world.
On a somewhat different note, finding our restaurant of choice closed, my husband and I ended up instead at a little hole-in-the-wall with Japanese food and take-out beer. We were treated to a sweet sermon by a friendly drunk and authentic Japanese working class fare, a first for us in the city (on both counts). If we keep our eyes open and are ready for the most unlikely possibilities, an abundance of adventure is waiting to be had.
Most recently, I’ve had the privilege of attending a conference on regional equity—making our city/suburb/farm regions work in terms of jobs and housing for everyone. Here were hundreds of people from all over the country—activists, funders, politicians, business people—passionate, articulate and effective—all working on issues of equality and justice. What a pleasure to witness this abundance of commitment and energy for issues that are not my direct work but are dear to my heart.
There is real scarcity in this world. But we are also surrounded by life-giving plenty that most of us rarely notice. To address the scarcity well, we need to root ourselves in that abundance.
Pamela Haines
Philadelphia, PA 5/05
posted by Pamela Haines | 7:57 PM
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