Nearing 20 years ago, a love once taught me to “Create the capacity to enjoy simplicity.” His words still ring in my ears as a grand symphony peaking to leave me with yet another ah-ha moment. Last week, I was reading Ezekiel 33-35 and it occurred to me that we must still be the watchmen for God’s call. Throughout this pandemic, we’ve been preoccupied with self-preservation, political turmoil, and destructive divisions of family, that we have forgotten to listen for the symphony in life: Create the capacity to enjoy simplicity. I wondered how I – one person- might promote change or give the cry. I spoke with my spiritual comrade (my mother), just trying to voice my concerns with this task. I shy away from public ministry because it is often misconstrued as shoving beliefs down one’s throat or shaming them rather than sharing the Good News. Therefore, my ministry has been through modeled behaviors, attitudes about life, and my writings. I sat with the idea of how I could live up to God’s call yet it was right in front of me the whole time. Pen-to-paper, fingers-to-keyboard, HE has been speaking through me so all I have to do is write.

Create the capacity to enjoy simplicity. We all know the adage, “The glass is either half empty or half full.” I’ve never been comfortable in limiting myself to those two options. I choose to see the glass as partly filled with water- a source of life itself- but it is also filled to the brim with the empty space necessary for the spirit to reside…. after all, it is both the living water and the spirit that gives us our power. My cup is not half of anything…. it overflows!

In the past, I had struggled with the concept of lack vs. abundance. We grew up very poor and so there was this need for conservation of resources. Even though my mother really did an amazing job at modeling her relationship with God so that we lived with all that we needed, we still grew up with the lack mentality. We had “just enough” but- except spiritually- we weren’t living in abundance. I’m not complaining, just stating observations. I suspect that we all had become comfortable in the “limited resources” or “doing without.” Over the past five years, I have consciously been breaking the cycle of lack. I do not want to be more comfortable living paycheck-to-paycheck or without “quality time.”

Side-note:

When I say “comfortable,” I don’t mean that one feels happier in a lack situation. I mean that abundance is such a foreign feeling that we revert to having little or sabotaging success so that we get back to a place of familiarity.

How have I broken the cycle?

First, it is important to recognize the gift of emptiness because this enables us to want to fill that reservoir. Material or superficial things get swallowed up by the void and are a short-lived space-fillers. The spirit of pure Love is the only long-lasting energy that can sustain residence within emptiness. I have allowed the spirit to fill my cup to the brim, nay, I have invited the spirit to fill my cup so that it spills over… and I demonstrate gratitude for these blessings.

What is the difference between “to the brim” and overflowing?

When our cup is filled, our needs are met and we also have a bit extra for the fun parts of life. The fun parts might be family vacations, fine dining with friends, or other activities that could be considered self-care. When our cup is overflowing, we have the ability and the priority (via our connection with the spirit of Love) to reach out and help humanity. We aren’t thinking of ourselves, our time constraints, or our financial “lack,” but are trusting that we have more than enough! This generosity is led by the spirit: It is Christ and God inspiring us to make a connection with humanity whether it be through compassion, time, or money. It is living in the realm of abundance. It is this breath of life- or breath of Love- that leads us to fulfill our mission:

Help others find The Way to create the capacity to enjoy simplicity!