Redefining Abundance in our Lives

Photo Credit: zhang kaiyv on Pexels

In my last blog post, I talked about the Winter Solstice ritual I started in the lead up to the New Year. I wrote down 13 intentions, and each day I selected one intention, and without reading it, I ripped it up and thanked my Spirit Team (what I call my team of Angels and Guides) for bringing that intention into my reality. I believe we co-create with Source and so this was a way to build trust and honor that process. When I reached January 2, I selected the remaining intention and read it. This was the intention that I was meant to carry into 2026 and focus on as my sole manifestation.

What happened next was an interesting experience. The paper I chose read “Appreciate and welcome abundance”. When I wrote this intention, I wanted to continue a practice of being grateful for the abundance in my life, but also to continue to redefine what that means. When I started this gratitude practice, I was focusing on the basics like clean water to drink, lots of food in my fridge to feed myself and my family, clean air to breathe, time to create, a vehicle to take me where I needed to go, etc. The list became very long and when I noticed something new, I began to redefine what abundance means for me.

Most people will make New Year’s Resolutions. I never have because I have always hated goal setting. When I thought about what I was doing this year, I realized that the reason I didn’t like resolutions was because they are specific and don’t take into account the natural ebb and flow of our lives. They become a way to judge ourselves and feel guilty about failing to reach a specific outcome related to those resolutions. So I chose intentions, because instead of focusing on an expected outcome, they focus on how you want to be and allow for course corrections. They focus on what we value, rather than something we think we are supposed to have. For example, I want to feel healthy in my body, not reach a specific weight. This perspective allows me to explore different ways of feeling healthy which can be what I eat, how I move my body or the people I choose to spend time with because they bring positive energy that feels good in my body. I believe that I will naturally lose weight because I will make better choices in my eating and exercise habits. Either way, I’m treating myself with conscious respect.

When I read my last intention, I started to think about what abundance would mean for the coming year. Interestingly enough, I began to happen upon videos and articles about abundance. I keep getting messages about abundance flowing in for me this year. So I asked myself if money was the only form of abundance I considered, and whether or not there might be something I was missing that was more important than financial abundance. The answer was “yes, and money is simply a tool that leads to the abundance you seek.” When I left my job last May, I worried about the loss of income and pressured myself to replace it as soon as possible. Then as time went on, I realized that what I gained from that was actually an abundance of time. Time to write and create, time to explore what I wanted to do with my gifts. Time I didn’t feel I had before when I was caught up in the corporate grind that left me feeling like I was just surviving life. That time gave me space too. Space to play with my daily schedule and choose when I wanted to work and where I wanted to work without any guilt or pressure from anyone else. This space was also a form of abundance because it gave me the freedom to explore different ways of creating and being that remove the limited box of my corporate job. 

Abundance is having what you need at the moment you need it

One thing I've noticed is that I have not felt a sense of lack since I left my job. In fact, I've spent a lot of time over the last couple of months getting rid of things from my house. I'm making space for new kinds of abundance. I’m learning that abundance comes from the connections we make with others as well. My volunteer experience over the holidays proved that there is abundance all around and a great number of generous individuals who are willing to share what they have without any money exchanging hands. Money is definitely part of the system we exist within, but not having money doesn’t mean lack of abundance. I find that when I focus on what I do have, what I need seems to appear. So my intention is to focus on what I already possess to meet my needs and continue to have gratitude for it, as well as be open and welcoming to the abundance the universe sends my way.