Excess is not Abundance
join me live to talk about the link between avoidance and consumerism, and how to cultivate true abundance
Hello Beloved Friends
Do you remember Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory?
She is the archetype of a greed. A spoiled person who wants fabulous fantabulous things instantly, and in the absence of receiving them, she throws a fit.
I’ve been feeling like her recently.
I think, as a stress response, I have become increasingly controlling, and when things don’t go the way I expect, I find myself panicking. My thoughts become circular and catastrophic, and I feel my heart rate increase.
I’ve also noticed that when I meet with others in a work context and a new idea is suggested, I can be full of resistance and opposition.
I am so grateful for my self awareness in these moments.
It is my self awareness that keeps me from following my bad mood towards inconsiderate behavior and naval gazing false crisis.
my self awareness kindly points me back to gratitude and perspective, because this world can be violent and many people are surviving without consistent access to clean water, food, or shelter. Many people, including within the United States, are being displaced by extractive capitalism. Many people have witnessed horrific violence due to war police violence, and militarization.
I know that my mental fragility and desire for control is indicators of the stress I feel, of emotions that have compacted over the past few weeks and are being expressed passively.
I think because violence impacts all of us. We can numb to the effect it has on our spirit, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are impacted.
When we witness each other’s story and take time to feel the pain, it is meant to move us towards meaningful action. We are meant to observe, feel, respond.
I love somatics
sometimes I just thump my chest lightly, and I feel it waking up my spirit, pulling me out of the disassociative noise of my mind and into my body.
I am still going live on youtube, linkedin, and instagram every monday and friday at 9am PST/ 12pm EST. I might be live as you read this! I am bringing up the live, because each live I facilitate a grounding and a little bit of somatic play to support body presence.
You can watch past lives here. Please consider clicking the link and subscribe to my youtube if you haven’t already ! I’m hoping to reach 1000 subscribers by the end of the year. I need your help to reach this life changing goal!
I will be going live until April 12th, then I’ll be taking a short hiatus from social media, but I will likely continue posting here.
Excess is not Abundance
Weather a strategy of escapsim or avoidance, excessive consumption is not the same as abundance.
I think of abundance as a joyful feeling of overflow and possibility. As I feel it in my body, my mind calls forth an image of laying in the sun with friends, there is laughter and a fruit platter.
The energy of this is so different than excess, which for me calls to mind the feeling of doomscrolling amazon for products I don’t need. Maybe, in a click, I will spend money I don’t have on things I don’t need, trapping me further in this dystopic capitalistic world.
I share to draw distinction, not to shame anyone. For many of us, Amazon is an accessible way to get the things we need. Simultaneously, Amazon’s poor work practices and role in creating a culture of mass consumption cannot be overlooked.
In this culture we are taught to consume instead of feeling
Food used to be free. It used to be something we touched with our hands, whether we grew it or foraged it.
The privitization of food, the idea that one person can own a tree and all the fruit it produces feels modern to me.
I am addicted to going to grocery stores, and it takes so much self control, and self editing to not create food waste.
Reducing waste cultivates abundance
Sometimes I htink about how buying more food than I need means I spend more money, and I use more energy to carry my groceries. I have less space in my fridge, and the act of needing to throw out the food I haven’t eaten is a whole chore that I can eliminate by reducing my consumption.
We talk about living with in our means, but I encourage us to also consume within our capacity
Sometimes, my plate is literally and figuratively full, and yet there is a voice in me that says “more, more, more”
The desire to hoard, to take more than I need, can be compulsive, like a bird pulling out its own feathers.
I am sharing honestly in hopes that it resonates. I know I cannot be the only one struggling with these things.
If you are living zero waste, please slide into my DMs!!! I have questions and want to get there! A huge thing that is helping me is reducing the amount of food I order in. Takeout generates so much trash and costs so much money.
Shifting gears…
Please join me in celebrating my beloved friend and mentor, Miller
As you can see, Miller is one of those people who can light up a room easy, and if you are admiring his shirt, you should know that he designed it, and you can buy it.
Miller is a special person in my life, because in his presence I feel a high quality of safety, grounding, and expansiveness. With Miller I am able to drop my mask, let go of control, and not facilitate everything (If you know me in my day to day life, you can appreciate what a big deal this is).
Miller truly nourishes my spirit, and through our conversation, often pushes me to more tangibly envision and bring to life a liberated world. With Miller’s friendship and care, I am able to push back on the overwhelming fear and anxiety I feel in the capitalist dystopic world.
I hope you will join me in celebrating Miller and offering some monetary support as he navigates multiple transitions. I have witnessed Miller give so much to the world from the energy of collective service, I hope we can all contribute and give back to him.
thank you for reading beloveds!!!!
as always let me know what you think, and please share if it is meaningful!!!
