Windows on the words: New lenses about "abundance"

The Eye only sees what the Brain is ready to understand (Bergson)

We never see “Reality” as it is, we see it through our own lenses. So, OUR Reality is a construction, a “mental map”, a story we tell ourselves. This is the way we create meaning of our Life, of events and …of words.

‍The “Windows on the Words” series is about looking at words with new glasses. It is about our freedom to open new meaning-making possibilities that can enrich our Life. Because in each word is a WORLD. This can become a daily practice: enjoying each opportunity to safely transform what and how you think, learning about YOUR glasses in the Presence of others, as well as discovering the power and freedom to change the stories that shape your Life, so you can change the way you shape the world. This is the core of Shapership, the Art of Shaping the Future.

This article is about the word “Abundance”

What “window” does this word traditionally open for you?

• A large quantity of “something”? An abundant meal!
• Access to a significant amount of money? An abundance of Wealth!
• Having more than you need?
• A source of confusion? The abundance of information
• The end of worries?
• Opportunity to share and distribute?
• Result of internal and psychological wealth?

When you think of it, it becomes clear that the current dominant model is based on a “story” of Scarcity rather than on a story of Abundance.

Scarcity can be organised to serve the capitalistic motto: “What is scarce is worth a lot of money”. So, over the past decades, Scarcity has become a way of looking at things, thus a way of being blind to other options.

But what happens when we see Abundance as a state of mind? As a way of looking at the world?

It may open a completely different universe! Let’s take two examples:‍

Looking at a person with the “lenses of Scarcity “or Abundance. If I adopt the Scarcity lenses, I might be trapped by the idea that this person - me for instance- is “lacking” something and needs to acquire something “more” in order to do / behave in certain ways and better ”fit” with an existing system (an organization, a society). This is the whole trend of Personal Development. Now if we take the “Abundance lenses” to look at ourselves. We can see how everything is already abundantly there. It is about letting go old useless stuff, beliefs, ideas, illusions - to be fully alive, to be Free, TO BE TRULY who we are. It is not about acquiring new “stuff” to grow up, it is about opening ourselves to new dimensions of Life.

Now let’s look at another example. Millions of people drink coffee every day around the world. This generates tons of coffee ground which are thrown away as waste. But not for everybody! Some pioneers turned this waste into a nutrient, started growing Shitake mushrooms on it and developed a very successful 3 P Business. Moreover, with the “waste” of the “waste”, others developed a compound which is a natural fertiliser for the soil. In Italy, agricultural surfaces banned from exploitation following E.U. regulations, were invaded by thistle. Thistle has been considered a nuisance for centuries and eliminated by fire or poison. Until one day, a creative CEO, a woman by the name of Catia Bastioli, looked at the thistle with fresh eyes and discovered that the various part of the plant were valuable sources of lubricant, enzyme, feed for cattle, elastomer for rubber, fibres, natural herbicide, and dye. 7 ways to generate revenue flows out of that plant.

Imagine what could happen if we looked at Reality around us with the lens of Abundance instead of those of Scarcity? What benefits we would be able to generate if we were actively searching for ways of extending the Planet’s natural resources?

OUR REQUEST TO YOU! It would be great if you could send us your definition of Abundance and suggest words you would like to explore definitions of with us. We want to thank you in advance for cooperating to the creation of what might be called The “Web-sters” Dictionary.

REMINDER! Shapership is all about the power and freedom we have to reframe our mental maps and change the way we shape the world.

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