I woke from a dream a few weeks ago with major butterflies in my stomach. That’s usually what happens when I see a truth I haven’t wanted to face.
“I’ve been playing it safe,” I realized. “I’m not walking my talk” was my next thought.
Then came, “Oh SHIT!”
I took a deep breath and said a prayer. Little did I know the many epiphanies I was about to have.
The next day, Dan and I were in the Chicago area and visited the Holocaust Memorial in Skokie. I was amazed and awestruck by the strength and courage of the human spirit that was on display. I was inspired by the capacity human beings have for immense love. I was also shocked and shaken by our capacity for immense arrogance, hatred, violence and evil.
Hearing and seeing the story of the persecution and deaths of millions of people shook me to my core. Not just Jews – but also Poles, homosexuals, the mentally and physically impaired and more. I learned more about the justifications, rationalizations and denial that led to the Holocaust.
In the process, I came face-to-face with my own justifications, rationalizations and denial. I saw my own arrogance. I was confronted with my own complicity in a world that perpetuates division, inequality and egocentricity. A world where the rights of certain individuals are honored at the expense of others.
Several years ago, my coach Pat asked, “What am I committed to?”
At first, I gave the usual answers. More income. Travel. Repairs to the farmhouse. All were true. Today, I realize they were more about my life-STYLE than about living the unique LIFE I was created to live.
As Pat pushed me to go deeper, what finally came out was this…
I am committed to revolutionizing people’s and society’s scarcity-based relationship with money to one that is rooted in a new definition of abundance.
That is rooted in their connection with God, themselves and each other.
That is rooted in their own inherent worth and the inherent worth of all human beings and all of Creation.
That shifts our focus from acquisition to distribution. That mirrors the Sacred Archetype of Abundance found in nature and that we practice every time we breathe.
And I MEANT it – with every fiber of my being.
The problem, my friend, is that I haven’t been LIVING it. This is what hit me like a ton of bricks a few weeks ago. Like so many who turned a blind eye or rationalized the events that took place under Hitler, I’ve been afraid to take a stand for what I believe in.
Rather than question or challenge what we think, believe and do with money, I’ve told myself, “Don’t rock the boat. It’s better to be safe.”
The problem with playing it “safe” is that it’s not REALLY living. Neither is hiding out, avoiding confrontation and going along with the status quo. I’m not fully being the unique human being I was created to be. Not only is that only dishonoring myself – it’s dishonoring YOU. That’s something I’m no longer willing to do.
So I’m putting a stake in the ground. For years, I’ve talked about changing the “money musical chairs game” we’ve all been playing. I’ve talked about creating a new game called “A Chair for Everyone”. Of creating a world where every human being AND this planet have the resources needed to thrive.
The “Oh SHIT!” truth I realized a few weeks ago was that my own scarcity had me still playing musical chairs. I was still trying to get a “chair” for ME.
But the problems and challenges our world is facing are bigger than ME. We cannot create a better world for ALL and maintain the “status quo”. The scarcity-based relationship with money AND life we’ve all inherited must be transformed.
Which means there’s work for us to do, my friend. Facing our own fears and our own patterns of scarcity is not something we do just for ourselves. It’s also how we can support other people and our planet to flourish as well.
This is what I am now more committed to than I’ve ever been – even as I have no idea where this commitment will lead. My question of you is simply this…
Are you with me, my friend?
I know that, TOGETHER, we can create a new experience of abundance in our own lives and the world. It’s the only way. Because, as I have said MANY times, abundance is NOT a solo sport.