The Happiness of Abundance
Once, when my friend Holly and I were grocery shopping together, she stopped suddenly in the midst of the produce section, looked around with an expression of awe on her face and with a sweep of her arm said, “Look! Right here. Everything we need to live.”
I often think of her comment when I’m shopping. And happily, my favorite grocery store is arranged so that my shopping begins in the midst of the produce section’s bounty.
Remembering how simple my needs truly are allows me to shop mindfully, to be peacefully content and pleased with the items on my list even as I stroll past the dazzling displays of products and packaging meant to tempt me. Instead of being pulled by some vague unnamed desire, I’m free to enjoy and marvel at the variety of the store’s offerings—the imported delicacies, the fragrances, the artistry of the packaging, the sheer abundance of it all.
To be aware of the simplicity of your needs is freeing. It cleanses you from the grasping feeling that you somehow require more and more. It allows you to feel contentment and ease. It opens your heart to appreciation for the abundance with which you are surrounded and provides you with a satisfying enjoyment of all that you possess. It shrinks your assessment of enough and expands your view of plenty. And because it puts enough so easily into your hands, it kindles your generosity and inspires you to share.
The next time you’re in a grocery store, stop for a moment in the produce section and look around at the miracle of it. Let it inspire you. See what happens.
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I love your site – very inspiring and positive. Thank you!
Thank you kindly, Sheryl. I hope you’ll stop by often.