Do you live a life of scarcity or abundance?

This is sort of like asking if you’re a glass half empty or half full kind of person, but a little different.

My childhood best friend lived in a world of scarcity. She was always worried about losing whatever she had, or not having enough, whether it was friends, loved ones, jobs, money, possessions, whatever. As a result, she was constantly going through one crisis or another, and she felt like every setback would ruin her entire life.

One of my relatives is another example; she thinks that the world is fundamentally a bad place, that life is unfair, and that most people are untrustworthy.

Likewise, one of my co-workers hates his job but feels too pessimistic to look for a new one.

I’m trying to live a more optimistic life in the hopes that it will let me help others and be my best self. Sometimes there are setbacks and it’s hard. When I was younger I was firmly in the first camp, always scrounging for money and a place to live. I’m learning that accepting help from other people is an important piece of the puzzle. Likewise, just doing something nice for another person can brighten your whole day.

There are actually a lot of really nice things in everyday life if you stop and notice them. A few weeks ago I was at one of my little “thinking spots” by the river, sort of asking the universe if things were going to be ok. Right at that moment, a heron landed in the water in front of me. A few days later I took a wrong turn on the way home, and found a new thinking spot, a waterfront park I’d never been to before. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and there were hundreds and hundreds of seagulls floating in the water, so many that it looked like whitecaps from a distance, and it kind of took my breath away. Ever since then I’ve found the sight of wild birds incredibly comforting and started noticing them everywhere.

My best friend said, “that’s really awesome and also kind of reminds me of The Birds,” lol.

How are you living your life?