When “not enough” shows up in your life — be it around money, time, energy or what you’ve accomplished — what’s your first instinct?
For most of us, it’s to do something about it. To fix it. Solve it. Get rid of it as quickly as possible.
That instinct is so common that we rarely question it.
But over the years, I’ve come to see that there’s another way of approaching scarcity in our lives — one that might surprise you and open the door to profound healing and growth.
It’s this…
Scarcity is not a problem to solve.
It’s an invitation and catalyst for learning, healing and growth.
I know — that’s a head tilt. 🙃
When we think of scarcity as a problem to solve or something to avoid… we immediately go into resistance.
We tense up.
We push against it.
We run from it.
We focus on what we don’t want.
Can you relate?
But resistance, my friend, creates a block — energetically, emotionally and creatively. We can be so busy reacting to scarcity — trying to solve it — that we’re not open to what it might be offering us.
In many ways, I’ve come to believe that this resistance to scarcity is part of what keeps us in The Abundance Trap™… feverishly trying to get someplace we’re not.
Yet all spiritual traditions teach us that the practice of healing and growth begins with learning to be where we are — with being open to this moment and what it offers us.
All of which leads me to make this bold statement…
Your relationship with scarcity will directly impact your ability to experience abundance, freedom, joy, peace, ease and well-being.
Fearing it, resisting it, trying to get rid of it?
That will only perpetuate your experience of it — no matter what you do or how much you achieve.
That’s why the way forward is to create a new relationship with scarcity — one where you lean into it instead of running from it. Where you stay open to what it might offer you, even in the midst of pain, discomfort or fear.
This is what I think Pema Chödrön means when she says:
“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to learn.”
Now, in case you’re wondering, this doesn’t mean we don’t take action.
For example, if I have $147 in my bank account and my mortgage payment for $1000 is due tomorrow, it serves me to take action so I can pay my mortgage.
But even this scarcity is an invitation to healing and growth.
- It might be inviting me to become more conscious of my spending. To look more closely at the reasons behind any unconscious or impulsive spending patterns that resulted in me not being able to pay my mortgage.
- It might be inviting me to practice asking for and receiving support from others. After all, abundance is not a solo sport or a DIY project.
- It might be inviting me to drop the judgment and shame I have toward myself because I don’t have the money for my mortgage. To learn to love and accept myself more deeply and unconditionally. To trust that my worth and value are not dependent on external results like money.
The specific invitation will be different for each of us. But I’ve practiced this long enough to trust that any form of scarcity carries this invitation — if we’re willing to slow down long enough to listen.
All of this was circulating in my mind and heart one Monday morning as I joined my meditation community on Zoom.
When I saw the quote that had been selected as the theme for our week, I had to smile at the synchronicity.
It was from Thich Nhat Hanh, who said quite simply and directly:
“No mud, no lotus.”
In other words, the very mud we would rather avoid…
is the same mud that allows the lotus to grow.
Again, scarcity is not a problem to solve.
It’s an invitation and catalyst for our healing and growth.
It’s the mud that helps us grow and blossom.
And so today I extend the same invitation to you.
Whatever type of scarcity you might be experiencing in your life — the places where “not enough” and your fear of “not enough” are showing up…
I invite you to practice relating to it in this new way. To practice opening yourself to what it’s offering you rather than immediately trying to fix it — or run from it.
Ask yourself:
- What might this be inviting me to see that I’ve not seen before?
- What might it be asking me to learn?
- What might it be inviting me to heal within myself?
- How might this moment — even this uncomfortable one — be inviting me to grow in a new way?
Just being willing to ask the questions can open a surprising amount of space.
And sometimes… that’s exactly when the lotus begins to grow.
That’s the place of wholeness — and abundance.
It’s not something we have to chase.
Rather, it’s something we learn to trust… and live IN.