Anchored Abundance

I’m excited for 2022.

It’s a timid excitement though.

It’s the kind of excitement that I had for the year 2019, and then that got smashed to smithereens until 2021. 

That was a naive hopefulness though, it felt light and airy and like it believed in fairytales. 

Now still feels like that, but also grounded? Anchored, in how the good things happen. And also that things may come around that maybe aren’t so good. 

I’m one of those people that choose words for the new year. And this year’s is “Abundance”. 

It’s just been popping up a lot lately for me.

A mantra I came up with in a meditation .
A blessing kit from my friend.
The name of one of my old blogs.
One of my favorite bible verses from back in the day.

I’ve done a lot of work on letting things go, willingly and then just by the river of Life.  It took me a while to look at all that has been brought into my life. 

Usually when you hear abundance talked about, it’s referring to money or possessions. 
But that’s not what it’s about for me this year. 

I just want more, almost in a greedy way, like I can’t get enough of it. 

I want more happiness. 
I want more really good meals. 
I want more laughs. 
I want more peace. 
I want more balance.
I want more love. 
I want more moments with my friends and family.
I want more head bumps from my cat. 
I want more moments of silly dancing. 

It’s all the things that have been keeping me anchored that I want more of. 
It’s the things I already have. 

Abundance has shown up in my life, a lot. And it’s imperfect, just like my misspelling of “Abudance” on my vision board for 2022. (I blame the fact that the sticker pack I had only had one of each letter for me missing it. But you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m leaving it like that, because it’s good for my OCD therapy lol). 

A church that I regularly listen to online gives out what they call “Star words” every New Years. 

The one I got this morning was “Anchor”. 

And that’s when it clicked with me about the kind of abundance I was looking for. 

I’m not looking for the abundance that breaks wishbones and just hopes that I will be getting what I want. 

It’s anchored. 

In gratitude. 
In grace. 
In work.
In patience. 
In love. 

I want to look at this year noticing the abundance that’s already abounding around me. 

The three day weekend that lets me rest and play.
MY FRIENDS, I could go on and on about how amazing they are. 
The LOVE of my family, it’s gotten me through some really rough patches. 

My vision for this year is less striving and more falling into who I want to be, what I want to do, and who I want to do it with. 

One of my favorite books is Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. (I have a tangerine shoulder tattoo because of the quote I’m about to share with you). This sums up how I want this year, and the rest of my life to be. 

“I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don’t want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.”

That’s the abundant life I want. It’s here. It’s grounded and lovely and magical in the most ordinary sense. 

Not to keep throwing quotes at you but here’s another one from “About Time”, amazing movie with a soundtrack that you NEED to listen to. 

“I just try to live every day as if it was the final day of my extraordinary ordinary life”. 

Soaking it in like this is the last drop of water I’m ever gonna get. 

And there’s one last quote from Mary Oliver, 

“Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

That’s a quote that often gets thrown on planners and wall art. Used to motivate towards success of some kind. But it’s not often shown in the context of the poem. It’s the question at the end of her poem called, The Summer Day. In which she lays all day in a field and watches a grasshopper. Her question isn’t to spur us on to great wealth and achievements, it’s to soak in the abundance around us. 

Our ordinary life is bursting at the seems with glorious and abounding abundance. 

I think abundance is easy to see when we’re looking for it. Hoping my vision for this year comes true. 

I hope that this year is full of abundance for you. And whatever you set your sights on. 

You’re worthy of abundance. 

You’re safe to live in abundance. 

You’re already holding abundance.