Scarcity Mentality

346 Marbles 

    I grew up in a family where there was always enough but somehow there was an underlying feeling of never having enough.  I’m not sure how this happens, but here’s an example of how it works.  When I was twelve, one of my sisters returned from living in Brazil.  She had nothing and had to reestablish her life as a nurse while her sons were very young.  My parents offered to give her the very modest furnishings that were in the rumpus room – aka basement.  My other sister, who was still living at home, got very upset with this.  When I asked why, she told me, “What will happen when we need to move out?”  The thought hadn’t crossed my twelve-year-old brain, but she was so convincing.  By the time I finished talking with her, I was in tears, tizzying over the empty apartment I was destined to have in my distant future.  This is a prime example of how irrational scarcity mentality is. 
    My ex-husband’s family were the abundance type.  Somehow the father went from a childhood of foraging for food in the hills behind  his home in Greece to a establishing a successful life in Canada.   There’s even a story how some cousins, who stayed with the family after their move from Greece, would take food and hide it in their rooms.  When my ex’s father found the food he sat them down and told them, “You don’t need to do this.  If we run out of food, we will go to the store to buy some more.”  They put the food back in the kitchen for everyone to share.
    I felt for the cousins.  It’s difficult to put the trust abundance if you come from a long line of get-it-while-the-getting’s-good types.  What I do know is that I didn’t have to worry about furniture when I moved out of home, nor did I when Ex-man moved out, though the furniture devil sounded in my head on a few occasions as I pictured my place without furniture -an old ghost rearing her nasty head.  Maybe she’s the one who drew the line at those friggen’ lamps. 

Consider where you are in the scarcity/abundance continuum.  How real is scarcity in your life?  Can you shake up old beliefs and start moving towards abundance?  Appreciate all the areas in your life that have abundance already including the love of family and friends. See yourself letting go of your past relationship knowing that it will not be the last time love will be in your life.