Abundance and Scarcity: A Reflection

Today’s prompt for a retreat/course that I am taking via Abbey of the Arts centers on a poem that Christine Valters Paintner has written about abundance and scarcity. This is my response to the poem and the question about living in a state of scarcity and trusting in abundance.

This is the line from Christine’s poem that shimmered for me:

Slow us down to see how time expands
when we breathe and pay attention.

The only way we can identify and name the state of scarcity that surrounds us is to slow down and pay attention. As consumerism rises once again during the holiday season, my prayer is to live a life that recognizes and shares abundance with others. To live authentically is the key.

In the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) Zoom course that Denise and I are taking (Mystical Sobriety) Dr. James Finley (who was a novice under Thomas Merton) shared the following quote from Merton: With God, a little sincerity goes a long, long way.

I truly believe that living sincerely and authentically is the key for transforming our fear of scarcity (there isn’t enough for us, let alone everyone else) into a heart of abundance that recognizes and freely shares out of the abundance of love, grace, and mercy that surrounds us.