In one of my favorite quotes, Mary Webb states that "The Well of Providence is deep. It's the buckets we bring to it that are small."
So what size is your "bucket"?
Please understand that the size of your "bucket" is not determined by external things like the size of your investment portfolio, the home in which you live, or the amount of your paycheck. The size of your bucket is determined by your willingness to expand yourself in thought and action so that you become the size "bucket" needed to access your dreams from the incredibly deep "Well of Providence."
What are the dreams, goals and intentions you have for your life? For that matter, do you have any? Have you actually written your vision? Do you have pictures, photos and images that capture the essence of your dreams visually? Do you read or envision your dreams daily?
One of the foundational principles of abundance is that of CLARITY. If you are not clear on what it is you want to achieve and receive in life I can guarantee you won't ever have it! Referring back to the quote by Mary Webb - what good is a well if you don't realize that you want or need water?
Taking this one step further, what good is a well if you don't have a big enough bucket with which to draw out the water you need or desire? Similarly, what good is having clarity about your dreams and vision if the "bucket" you bring to the "Well of Providence" is not big enough to hold those dreams?
There are two ways in which we can apply and integrate the principles and tools of abundance in our lives. The first way the way of authentic abundance is in such a way that we continue to expand the size of our buckets. The second way a very subtle way of scarcity is when we use the principles and tools of abundance to try to "justify" the small size of our bucket or to convince ourselves that our small buckets are abundant!
The process of "accessing abundance" is, inherently, a process of expansion. The tools and principles of abundance are all designed to support you in that process. While it is true that these tools, e.g., gratitude and acknowledgment, also support you to recognize the abundance you already have in your life that does not mean that it is "abundant" to stay there! Abundance, energy, and life itself is always moving, growing, changing, expanding! The moment this movement stops, abundance, energy and life itself also stops! When we fail to engage in the process of expansion, scarcity will be the result.
Consider this image. Let's say that your dream or vision is represented by an empty hot tub that just happens to be sitting right next to the Well of Providence. All you need to "do" to achieve your dream (of soaking in the hot tub with a glass of champagne!) is to transfer the water from the Well into the empty hot tub. Heres when the size of your bucket becomes so important!
First, imagine the process of filling that hot tub if your "bucket" was a teacup! Imagine how much scooping and effort would be required! Imagine how exhausting the process would be! In fact, it may be so exhausting and take so long that you actually quit long before your hot tub is filled! (See what I mean by scarcity?)
Now imagine what the process would be like if your "bucket" was a large (50 gallon) garbage can. Not only would the process of filling your hot tub require less scoops it would actually get filled more quickly! (Of course, you might also imagine what the process would be like if you had a hose connected to the Well of Providence but that's another article!)
As you can see, the process of "expansion" is vitally important for us on the Journey of Abundance. Please understand, however, that the process of expansion is not the same as trying to put more into our current buckets.
Consider this scenario. You can either imagine it in your mind or, better yet, actually do this exercise and experience it yourself. You'll need a teacup or coffee cup, a pitcher of water and your kitchen sink to safeguard against making a mess. Fill your cup to the brim with water (not hot water, however) until it is full and you can't pour anymore in without it overflowing. This fully filled cup represents abundance. Now hold your cup (careful not to spill!) over the kitchen sink and pour the contents of the pitcher into it, causing the contents in the cup to overflow. Notice the water level in the cup. While it may only be slightly so, notice that the cup is now less than full. Your attempt to pour more water into the cup actually displaced water and you were left with less than you had at the beginning.
The same is true for us on the Journey of Abundance. When and if we attempt to add more into our "buckets" without first expanding their size, we actually displace abundance in our lives and scarcity is the result!
So now that you realize its importance how can you expand the size of your "bucket"?
First of all, remember that expansion is not necessarily about doing more than you already do - it's about being more... it's about expanding yourself. As you expand, what can be done (by you and/or others) expands too.
Expansion requires, first of all, a willingness to learn, grow and change even if it is sometimes uncomfortable. Expansion requires a willingness to trust and act in faith despite the absence of "left-brain logic". For example, an action that powerfully supports expansion is to spend 5-10 minutes every day doing absolutely nothing! Believe me, when you are feeling overwhelmed by all that you must do, the idea of sitting and doing nothing does not make logical sense!
Here are some other "fundamentals of expansion"...
- You must take care of yourself and your needs. To not do so will only leave you drained, frazzled, frantic, scattered - hardly a place from which we can expand!
- Again, clarity is a must! Clarity supports creativity and without clarity and creativity, you will have scarcity guaranteed!
- Use the abundance tools of asking and receiving consistently. More than any other scarcity pattern, it is our inability to ask for and/or receive assistance, support, ideas, acknowledgment, and feedback that keeps our "buckets" small and our abundance limited.
- Using the principles of gratitude and acknowledgment, consistently focus on the abundance within and around you.
Take actions to expand yourself and your bucket every day. Remember, "the Well of Providence is deep." As you continue to E-X-P-A-N-D the size of your bucket to match your vision and dreams, you will access abundance!
Teresa Romain is the President and Founder of Access Abundance! Services International, an organization founded to educate, inspire and support people to access greater levels of abundance, freedom and fulfillment in their daily lives. Access Abundance! is founded on the belief that the abundance we desire is already available to each of us. Our job is not to create it but, instead, to access it.
Since 1996, Teresa has taught, inspired and supported thousands of people worldwide through her dynamic and transformational programs and services. As a trainer, coach, program designer and author, Teresa makes the transformational process of abundance both challenging and fun, exhilarating and fulfilling, and, most of all, powerful in its results. To learn more about how you can access the abundance that is your birthright, visit her website at http://www.accessabundance.com.
