Abundance has been defined in a variety of ways, by different people at different times and in different cultures. Today, we typically measure abundance in terms of the money and objects we possess. We think that those who possess the most are the most free and powerful individuals and that they therefore enjoy the most abundant lifestyle. Yet for Plato, Aristotle, and the Roman Stoic philosophers, the most free and powerful individuals were those who could be happy with the fewest things. While our culture values those who earn and hoard the most, among certain tribes in New Guinea, the most valued members of society were those who gave away the most.
In the end, we could say that abundance is the feeling of enough and to spare. Well all right, but how much is enough? Does a man with a "net worth" in the millions, whose mood fluctuates with the stock market, and who feels himself to be lacking relative to his country club companions, experience abundance? What about a "primitive" in the rainforests of the Amazon who, with the simplest of technologies and a leaky temporary hut for a shelter, feels himself blessed by the bounty of the forest? Clearly, having no quantifiable frame of reference, abundance is a state of mind, or more precisely, of being.
In attempting to define abundance, a look at the origin of the word itself as well as those of other terms we associate with wealth and prosperity will help. The word abundance is derived from the Latin abunda-re, meaning "to overflow." Wealth is derived from the Old English wel or wela, meaning "well" or "well-being." Well is to wealth, as heal is to health. The word prosperity is derived from the Latin prospera-re, meaning "to render fortunate." Rich comes from the Old English rice, meaning "strong," "powerful." While today we associate all these terms almost exclusively with money and material gain, in their origins all had meanings that address quality of life in broader terms.
To live by the law of abundance is to be fully alive, free of any sense of lack or desperation...READ MORE...
