“As long as we remain vigilant at building our internal abundance—an abundance of integrity, an abundance of forgiveness, an abundance of service, an abundance of love—then external lack is bound to be temporary.” ― Marianne Williamson, Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness And Making Miracles
This weekend, I set aside a few hours for the unenviable task of organizing my garage.
One would think it’s an occasional task – perhaps yearly or even every other.
But in my house, it seems to happen with a great deal of regularity as one project leads into another and time seems to constrict one’s ability to leave things as orderly as they were before.
I experience the same pattern of behavior in my basement as well – oftentimes leading to a full-on cleaning spree one never plans to undertake.
My wife and I try not to throw anything away whose intended purpose is still viable.
Instead, we like to make frequent donations to various charities, rather than trying to make a profit for ourselves through garage sales or online classified advertisements.
It was during this most recent garage organization project that I realized something quite profound. This continuous re-organizing and donating means one thing – I truly have an abundance.
Abundance simply means, “an ample quantity”. What I found so amazing is how easy it is to believe your life is lacking in something until you find yourself sorting through boxes of “things” you rarely use anymore.
The problem is we’re all collectors. The more we amass, the more value we assign to our social status, our careers and even our own ego. These “things” we’ve collected make us feel secure and even successful, regardless of how often we use them.
But all that abundance doesn’t really mean much if you can’t extend a little kindness and generosity to those who have little to nothing to organize because their worldly possessions fit into something the size of a shopping cart.
Roy T. Bennett once said, “The essence of life does not consist in the lushness of your possessions, but in the richness of your heart.”
Who knew I’d be so deeply inspired by something as simple as cleaning out the garage.