We’ve been conditioned to believe that ‘winner takes all’ and ‘if I have money/fame, THEN I’ll be secure, I’ll have friends/be popular, have meaning and feel accomplishment in my life’.
This video leaves with a question at the end. I would add an additional question:
What do I have in abundance?
Often we don’t see our own abilities as worthwhile/abundant because they’re not reflected back as valued in society. As we wrestle with personal values and the simple things that sustain us – quietly sharing the things we DO have in abundance – the result is joy. Appreciating what we have begins by not judging ourselves that we aren’t rich/famous/thin/successful enough. At first our personal abundance may look silly or useless, but sit with the tiny simplicity of it, and it may take on a life of its own, crafting a way to bring joy not just to us but to others.
Here’s an example of a simple abundance from my own life.
Our house breeds clothes. When the kids were small I set up a clothes and stuff swap for entertainment in our home. We moved what we wanted to other rooms, and set up marked areas with signage so guests would know where to place their unwanted things for swapping.
It was a hoot! Fun was had by all as friends and family brought over things they didn’t need and we socialized and swapped. The kids pretty much stayed in the toy room and found new toys to take home, the parents socialized and found things we needed, I was able to clear out clutter we didn’t need anymore and found things we could use. I found a creative and socially fun use for my abundance. It brought me joy.
My abundance (clothes and stuff that seems to breed in the attic) wasn’t money, or fame, or power. It was ‘just’ clothes and stuff. It was something simple. I started looking for ways to be creative with what I saw as my abundance.
To make a long story short, after years of experimenting I created Swap Positive– started with the simple abundance of extra clothes.
Sharing abundance gives joy.
What do you have extra in your life? What do you have a lot of? What is your abundance? Are you someone who can’t wipe the smile off your face? Do you have way too many empty toilet paper tubes? Do you get a thrill from constantly holding babies? If you give away your extra, what kind of joy will you bring to yourself and to others? If you smile at people it could make a positive difference in their day. Maybe a local preschool would love those toilet paper tubes for the ongoing projects they have, and appreciate your steady supply? A hospital might need someone to hold premie newborns, or a church/school/clinic nursery might appreciate your skills so young mothers can get a short refreshing breather. What you see as ‘not really anything’, or maybe even feel guilty about, might be what you have in abundance. Realizing and using your abundance creatively could make all the difference in how you see yourself and your place in this world. Being rich, famous, and powerful doesn’t bring joy, but maybe having too many toilet paper tubes or egg cartons might be the beginning of a new chapter of joy and giving in your life?
Barb
Be blown away by youth that demonstrate a passion for restoring the health of the environment! The April 26th Sharing Ideas event, features the Roosevelt High School Science Club, a group of students determined to counteract pollution in Portland, Oregon. These local youth are experimenting with planters that recycle polluted air into clean air and testing of air quality surrounding Roosevelt High School. They have been invited to Washington, D.C. later this year to present their findings.
What do you do if you’re a small tree chipping company and you don’t want to spend your money on dumping fees? What do you do if you’re a city planner trying to keep your landfills from filling up so fast? What do you do if you’re a homeowner who wants to do some sustainable and frugal landscaping pathways?
A new website in Portland Oregon solves this three way problem with 
Even though I don’t have cancer, many of my friends have walked that road. So I thought reading this book would be enlightening.
You know all those books that tell you “just have a positive mental attitude?” Well, this book is the manual on how to achieve that effortlessly. Read this mix of practical examples, storytelling, science, and you can be in easy world as well. If you believe there could be parallel universes or realities…why not parallel worlds of difficult and easy? This book gives tools to actively (or at times quite passively) change your perspective to make joy your main operating source instead of fear/control/worry.
It’s that time of year where oranges are plentiful, in season, and an easy and sweet vitamin C fix. But having to peel the darn things leaves pith under fingernails, as well as the possibility of getting more sticky sweet juice on your fingers then in your mouth. Well, 
Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson, is a book of fun and practical ideas written by a frugal French mom living in America with her American husband and 2 boys. While several of her ideas I already have in practice (she details composting, de-cluttering, simplifying), I found many new ideas such as a simple multi-purpose balm, techniques for waterproofing leather, and special towel folding techniques to carry food to picnics and wrap gifts. So far I’ve tried her cocoa powder eye shadow, where I brushed cocoa powder on my eyelids. I then asked my 17 year old son what he thought. He was like “Mom – it makes you look old and wrinkly!” I put on my glasses and sure enough even though I liked the color, this is a tip for someone much younger…but it was fun and simple to try!
FallingFruit.org is an an urban harvesting map that brings together community and city data bases from all over the internet/world. Find, add, and edit information on the wild edibles growing in your neighborhood. Check out 
This do-it-yourself furniture design can be downloaded for local manufacture, and is the start of a very cool idea. In it’s current rendition, there’s a fair amount of wood waste, but what if future furniture designed created less waste because it was square instead of round? I like that the pieces fit together in such a way that you don’t need other tools. I like that you can use whatever is your favorite local material, and give local business a leg up, instead of manufacturing in far away countries and then $hipping the products to you. Maybe this software and technology could be used to create components for my 
Better Ideas Now 