Increase your sense of abundance

Imagine yourself as a child in a candy store, that sweet smell, all those colors, all that delicious candy! That feeling! That your mouth falls open, your breath almost stops for joy, that feeling! Can you imagine? That feeling of abundance, which makes you so happy, would you not want more of that? Based on the 10 themes that Ingrid Fetell Lee shares in her book Joyful, I tell you in this blog how you can create more abundance in your life. To understand why you can be so happy with abundance, I’ll first give you some background about this lovely feeling. Then I will share tips to increase your sense of abundance. And it’s not about big things and far journeys, but about how you can do this close to home with small, simple things, preferably with things you already have.

Born of scarcity

In ancient times, people lived in scarcity, there was generally no abundance, survival was a struggle. Fortunately, in those days you sometimes came across a “candy store” in the form of a tree full of apples or bushes full of berries. And what did you do? Right, collect! You never knew when you would come across this delicacy again. It provided us with food for a while and gave us a feeling of security and wealth in times of scarcity. Actually, we still do this, but now we call it “just shopping” 🙂

This also explains why early man preferred to be in varied landscapes with an alternation of grassland and forest. Here the chances of encountering a candy store were greatest! And even now, in our time, it appears that people feel happiest in a varied environment (because there’s food in abundance).

Beyond scarcity…

So this feeling of abundance is actually very recent. And these days it’s much less about gathering food, although a well-stocked vegetable garden, full berry bushes and trees full of apples and pears can still make me very happy! It’s more about a “feeling” of abundance now. Seeing many different colors and patterns and feeling different textures. That’s why many people get so happy at (flea) markets and thrift stores. And the great thing is, to feel the feeling of abundance, you don’t necessarily need a lot of stuff!

Even more abundance

Here are some more examples from the book Joyful to get some more sense of the feeling of abundance. Inspired by Marie Kondo (does it spark your joy?), a lot of people are actually trying to get rid of their abundance of stuff (are you decluttering yet?). Yet this is not about minimalism. After cleaning up, you’ll still have plenty of (beautiful!) stuff left. Ingrid compares it to weeding your garden. When you have cleared your garden of weeds, all those beautiful flowers and plants come out much better.

The book also mentions that an abundance of stimuli (textures, color, patterns) is essential for healthy mental development. If you have children you probably know those books with bright colors full of crackling fabrics, very soft fabrics, rough fabrics, mirrors, etc. Ingrid also mentions in her book the Dutch Snoezelen (Snuffling + Doezelen) which is used in the treatment of developmental disabilities, brain damage and dementia.

Finally, she also explains why confetti, polka dots and stripes make us so happy. Simply, because the repetition of small things gives much more Joy than each individual one. Think glitter, Christmas lights, your collection of colored pencils, a bowl full of M&Ms, Skittles or Jelly beans.

Tips!

Here are some tips for bringing more Joy into your life with Abundance:

• Surround yourself with crafts, printed fabrics and art;
• Choose polka dots, stripes or patterns in your clothing and/or your home accesories (pillows!). Paint stripes on your wall, mix and match;
• Visit a (flea) market, thrift store, candy store, spice store more often;
• Surround yourself with different plants and flowers, also choose berries or other fruit in your garden;
• Go for a walk in a varied environment;
• Provide a variety of hard and soft textures (pillows! :-));
• Treat yourself to a bown of M&M’s or Skittles :-);
• Sprinkle with confetti and rainbows, hang your own garlands!;
• Do you have a nice (colorful) collection of small things, take them out and show them off!. Think of marbles, rocks, pencils, shells…

Inspired by Lou Niestadt and her Joyride to Freedom, I am trying more and more to feel and do where my Joy (joy) lies. During my own Joyride to Freedom it is of course not so strange (Law of Attraction in action) that I stumbled upon the book Joyful, written by Ingrid Fetell Lee. On the basis of 10 themes she describes how you can add more Joy to your life. It inspired me to start a series of 10 blogs. Here you can find my first blog about more Joy with Energy.

If you, like me, want more Joy in your life absolutely check out Ingrid Fetell Lee’s website. Watch her TED talk or join her very nice Facebook Group.