Share Your Abundance

I recently finished a book, Waking Up In Winter by Cheryl Richardson, which I totally recommend if you're a midlife woman.  It's a life journal that explores what really matters at this stage, and I found myself agreeing with so much of what she wrote.

But one idea stood out above the others:  share your abundance.

I'm a big believer in positive thinking.  Which doesn't mean I practice it all the time, since I'm the queen of falling back into old habits.  But when I stay positive, truly wonderful things happen.  Good stuff comes from good thoughts.

Cheryl wrote specifically about reframing the way we view spending money on things we'd rather not spend it on, like paying bills or taxes.  Instead of seeing it as "wasting your hard earned money", shift the focus to "sharing my abundance with the world". 

That abundance goes out and helps others stay employed, gather income, and in turn share their own abundance with someone else.  And I've already seen it come back to me in positive ways.

There are so many ways to share your abundance.  Share your knowledge, your skills, your talents.  Share your kindness, your smile, a helping hand.  You can even share your closet.

This is only half...HALF of what I donated.  And then there's the consignment stuff.  Eeks.

Over the weekend I decided to do a major closet purge.  It was way past time, and honestly a little embarrassing.  My closet was bursting, with overflow into at least two other closets in the house.  I've never considered myself a hoarder, but apparently when it comes to clothes, all bets are off.  I had what I referred to as "the archives", because maybe it will fit again, or come back into style, right?  Well, no more.  The archives are gone, along with all the old bridesmaid dresses, and things I'd held onto because they evoked a good memory.  

As I dropped them off for donation, I felt a little sad.  There are some good pieces in those black bags.  Then I thought about sharing the abundance, and it felt good.  Someone needs those clothes way more than I do.

Plus, now there's room for a few new things.  Just kidding.  Well, kinda.  Shopping is sharing my abundance, non?