Many people are living a life of abundance and they do not realize it. They insist on miscounting their wealth – living everyday as it it were a close-call struggle for survival. This attitude brings out the barbarian in man. It makes us act on impulse. It makes us abandon reason and abandon luxury – it leads many to live a life of constant neuroticism.
What do we have to be so overprotective about? Why should we cling to every bit of property as if it were our last meal? What makes us so hesitant to give up what we do not truly need or depend on?
A dollar that sits in your wallet remains but a dollar. It is worthless. It is not real wealth – the kind that only comes from production and consumption – it is only a symbol of wealth.
Not to misrepresent savings – a practice that is crucial for accumulating capital – the only way to increase one’s potential for production and consumption, but the economist Keynes – if he was right about one thing then it was this: “In the long-run, we are all dead.” There is no amount of wealth we can gain in this world and keep after we die. Nothing we own in this life will be ours forever. Sounds scary? It’s not. It’s liberating. What we lose in clinging to our material possessions is equal to what we gain by letting go of them.
Before all else, acknowledging one’s abundance becomes a shift in perspective. It allows us to step in the handsome role of the giver and no longer remain the victim of circumstances.
The attitude of abundance does not lead us to give to others recklessly or without discretion; instead, it allows us to give in a way that increases the wealth for both parties. All free economic activities benefit each person’s self-interest. Giving for the sake of feeling good about “giving,” and not with the foresight that the person you are giving will capitalize on your investment is foolish and a waste of hard-earned wealth.
There are no good reasons to give simply out of pity for others. The receiver rarely wants to receive out of pity. It only puts him or her in a position of weakness, and hurts their psychological well-being much more than it helps their financial situation.
Only give with the intention of putting another at a position of strength, self-reliance, and self-motivation. Then your act of giving becomes self-fulfilling, the receiver appreciates it more, and it keeps his or her self-pride intact and unharmed.
Those with the attitude of abundance do not give for their own selfish psychological benefits. They are already strong characters of moral and emotional strength. Thus, they give out of the goodness of their hearts – out of their own self-interest towards the well-being of the party they are giving to. Their act of giving does not end until they see the other as prosperous as themselves (through the receivers own merit and good effort, not through some arbitrary equalization of possessions).
The abundant don’t give to others so that the receiver can simply get by another day. They give to the receiver so that the receiver has a means, a starting point, to step up as their own character of integrity and abundance.
The abundant gain pleasure by making others abundant. That is the true sharing of wealth. Why would one want to give to another if the benefit is merely material and not a stepping stone to true independence and freedom for all parties. The attitude of abundance gives rise to others attitudes of abundance. And with this attitude, society as a whole can enjoy more wealth.
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