From Lack to Abundance in One Fell Swoop

I’ve been mulling over how one can seemly go from lack to abundance in one fell swoop. Maybe it’s simply a mindset, though, a change in perspective.

My husband felt the lack of a job so profoundly for the four and a half months he was unemployed. He also felt the lack of any job opportunities. Then he landed a job. What do you think happened the following week? Not only did he receive several calls from head hunters and recruiters about possible job opportunities, but he also received a call from a former boss with a really great opportunity, which he is actually looking into despite the fact that he’s just begun work.

Plus, whereas his dabbling in start up companies so far hasn’t gotten him very far financially, the one he’s gone to work for suddenly has some great deals in the works that might mean a fast sale. The other possible job could mean working for quick turn arounds, which means quick money as well.

There’s abundance every where my husband looks if he opens his eyes to see it. He just needs to figure out how to take personal advantage of the abundance of opportunities and the abundance in general.

As for me, I have an abundance of viable book ideas. Actually, I have an overabundance of viable book ideas. The lack I have comes in the form of time to produce them and a perceived lack that there are no publishers to purchase my books. I say perceived, because some of the ideas have been turned down by large publishing houses and there are only so many small houses that cater to my niche. However, it is perceived…not real.

I need to figure out how to take personal advantage of the abundance of my ideas. I need to figure out how to make an abundance of time as well so I can write the books. I need to find an abundance of publishers, or at least just enough publishers, to buy my books — and to pay me for those books.

In both cases, my husband’s and my own, we need to be open to receiving all this abundance. We need to develop large containers to hold all the wonderful opportunities available to us.

How do we do that? First, (in light of Passover) by freeing ourselves from our perceived restrictions. We have to stop saying “I can’t, I shouldn’t, I won’t, and I’m afraid.” We begin, instead, reciting the words sung by Rabbi Gila Rayzel Raphael last night at the Chadeish Yameinu community seder I attended. We all sang together: “I will, I can, I know I should.”

It is possible to do what we want and to have what we desire. We simply have to want it badly enough and be willing to change the perceptions that we can’t have them, can’t achieve it, aren’t good enough, don’t have the ability, aren’t worthy. We have to want these things badly enough to move forward no matter what.

In my husband’s case, he has to keep moving forward with the interviews despite the fact that he accepted a job, especially since the job culture where we live and in his industry is one of constant flux. And he has to believe he can create a situation in which he can take on situation all the way to fruition and then do the same with the next.

In my case, I have to believe that I can make time to write all my books and find publishers for them all and make money in the process. I have to then set out to do exactly that. I have to actually make the time, write the books and submit them (or have my agent do so). It’s that simple.

Another way to increase the size and strength of our container and to open ourselves to receiving more abundance lies in giving. For me, that’s easy. My writing involves giving to others. For my husband, he has to see that what he does is a way to give not only to employers but to those who use the end product of what the company manufactures. In addition, we can give in other ways, such as through tithing, charity work or anything that constitutes tikkun olam (healing the world).

Abundance is all around us. Lack is mostly in our minds. I’m not negating the fact that some people do, indeed, live in lack; their are people who don’t have enough money to put food on the table or a roof over their head. Yet, the universe itself is abundant. With a little ingenuity and perseverance almost anyone that isn’t too handicapped to take action can find a way to create abundance.

As Rebbe Nachman said, “Remember: Things can go from the very worst to the very best…
in just the blink of an eye.” It’s all in how we see things.