Is & Being Enough ( Part 2 )

The Equitable Abundance Series

“Today, we’re taking a closer look into our emotions,” said Jackie during this morning’s wellness gathering. I sat criss-cross on the floor, reflecting on the possibilities of this moment. With each deep breath as a form of centering myself into the present, I soon recognized that I felt nothing. Nothing? Exactly, nothing. And that was scary.   

Understanding our emotions and developing a self-perception rooted in enoughness rather than scarcity allows equity as a by-product. This is abundant living. Briefly, we’ll venture into this concept below.  

Before this recognition, at the most inconvenient times, my emotions & feelings would flare out. Feeling the need to keep it all together, ironically, this need became one of my most significant emotional stressors. At times needed for focus, I’d be restless; for times of decision making, fear became crippling. For every instance that required an “appropriate” emotional reaction, I had the opposite. And I found that disturbing. As usual, at the wellness gathering, we could fully release any unwanted emotional weight in a form we felt best. Yet, I felt no emotion, though the weight remained. Neither did I have the energy to express whatever was left.   

That is until Jackie shared that our emotions are neither positive nor negative but just is. They are valid. For example, when feeling anxious, it’s shifting the mindset of “I shouldn’t feel this way because this is a negative emotion” to “I’m feeling anxious, what is my mind/body trying to tell me about the situation at large and how can I show up for myself at this time?”.   

And a wave of relief washed over.   

Perhaps you too spent time this week pondering the concept of equitable abundance and how this relates to our emotions as “is”.  

As humans, we are emotional beings, and our internal abundance stems not from simply feeling happier, more joy, or more of anything. Instead, our internal abundance stems from believing that as we are, our being is enough, emotions included.   

Author Brene Brown said it best here, “I think abundance and scarcity are two sides of the same coin. The opposite of ‘never enough’ isn’t abundance or ‘more than you could ever imagine.’ The opposite of scarcity is enough, or what I call wholeheartedness ... vulnerability and worthiness: facing uncertainty, exposure, and emotional risks, and knowing that I am enough”.   

This is profound. As audacious as this mindset is, it is achievable today. When encountering the myriad of inner thoughts and external situations, it’s repeating, “I am enough, as I am, and in my being”.   

So, how will this influence my community? Stay tuned for part 3 of the equitable abundance series next Sunday evening.