Cultivating abundance, both financially and in my garden, has been a long journey for me. When I first became interested in gardening I was convinced I needed to grow my own food because the economy was going to crash and I’d have to know how to be self sufficient in order to survive.
This belief sustained my drive to grow my own food for a long time. I volunteered on farms across New Zealand working 10 hour, tireless days, interned at a food forest project in a scorching desert climate because I wanted to learn how to xeriscape a garden, and even worked for as little as $3/day because I was convinced I’d be taking advantage of a farmer if I asked for a living wage. The list goes on…
I started to realize that something felt out of alignment with the way I was justifying my work. I thought that I should give freely of my time because gardening was my passion. But at the same time, I wasn’t earning a living doing what I had so dearly fallen in love with. Essentially, I was basing my degree in environmentalism and all of my job opportunities off of a Lack Mentality.
When it really came down to it, I thought that being wealthy equated to consumerism and environmental degradation. I thought that if I could just figure out how to successfully grow my own produce, I would be eating an abundance of healthy and free food for the rest of my life.
I mean, seriously? Who was benefitting from this idea? I acted like a raccoon, resourcefully scavenging for organic food because I thought organic food was too expensive and because I was too busy exchanging my time for organic food! My wheels were turning and my bank account was running on empty.
It’s okay, you can laugh. It’s clear to me now that operating from a Lack Mentality was not helping me create the abundance I wanted for myself. Because the truth is, being environmentally conscious takes money – LOADS upon loads, of massive money. But cultivating abundance in your life does not necessarily equate to being an irresponsible consumer.
Think about it, what happens when you want to buy solar panels to reduce your carbon footprint? What happens when you want to buy an above ground tank to irrigate your crops or a geodesic dome to extend your growing season? These are all very helpful advancements in the sustainability movement that allow you to be a better steward of the land.
Cultivating An Abundance Mindset
I could talk for hours about small farmers business grants, living wages and fair exchange, or community gardens and environmental education; all of which are pieces of the web that encompass this notion of Sustainable Abundance, both environmentally and personally. However, for now, my point is this: after working deeply with the medicine of Lack Mentality over the past (almost) decade, I’ve come to realize that this self-induced financial suffering stemmed from this one thought:
What would happen if everyone knew the truth about me — that I wanted to be financially abundant, a responsible environmental steward, and use my time wisely?
It’s terrifying to think that you could be seen as someone who wants it all, because isn’t that consumerism? Isn’t that promoting environmental degradation, even if you’re trying to buy the environmentally conscious product? In reality it all comes down to this one truth that clears the fog of Lack Mentality:
Nature grows abundantly and deeply desires to stay alive.
You’re never going to create the life of your dreams if you believe that nature won’t provide unless something is sacrificed in exchange (i.e.: your time and financial freedom in exchange for sustainably sourced produce). You’re never going to break up with the produce isle while living in an extreme climate, unless you invest in a geodesic dome. There are risks that come with making big investments, but staying stuck in Lack Mentality will get you nowhere.
If you desire to grow as a human and with the land, you must believe that there is enough abundance to grow your dream lifestyle. Look around you and find abundance where it lives naturally in the Earth. Use it as proof that you can be abundant as well.
Written by: Desiree Rose. Desiree is a biodynamic gardener, content developer, artist, and embodiment coach. With a degree in Resiliency Leadership and Environmental Education, she’s had the opportunity to study intensively under many thought-leaders in the fields of Environmental Agroforestry, Women’s Embodiment, Ayurveda, Astrology, Life-Coaching, Curriculum Design, and Biodynamic Beekeeping. When she’s not tending the gardens at Growing Spaces, she can be found rock climbing, highlining, and soaking in the hot springs in southwest Colorado.
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