The Point of Roughness

In Wales, the term for Winter Solstice is The Point of Roughness.

It’s the night when the horse goddess, Rhiannon gave birth to her son. He disappeared as she was sleeping. People accused her of devouring her son. She was forced to sit outside and tell everyone her story for seven years.  She thought he had been murdered, but apparently he had just wandered off.

This Goddess, rich and heavy with potential. Then she sleeps and her baby disappears, and then, seven years of suffering.

Ah- what a horrible story!

Which brings me to today’s conversaton. I want to talk about the recurring theme of “They had it all and look what happened!”

They Had It All and Look What Happened!

This is one of the favorite stories of our culture. We are somehow gratified by those who have big riches and lose them all. We find a little bit of satisfaction when we observe famous people who crash and burn from a drug addiction.

Just think about how many people judge Courtney Love.

Why do we do this?  Why do we feel this?

Maybe,  we never expect to be wealthy. We never think we’ll have the lives they have.

We think they are different than we are. And honestly, we resent them for having life so easy.

Because, for many of us, more money equals an easier life.

And for many of us, that would be somewhat true.

I think if I had my house paid off and an extra $50k sitting in a bank account, I’d be a little more at peace. Maybe.

So when we see someone with money making a royal mess of their lives, we feel a wee bit superior.

We feel poor but proud.

The Downside

Whenever we fail to see the humanity of our fellow planet-dwellers,  (no matter how much they spent at Barney’s or how many sex tapes they have),  we lose touch with reality.  We stop understanding the human condition. We create the other.

This is the only sin we really have. This is the sin of separation.  In Spanish, the term, Sin means  Without.  When we stop seeing people as people, but instead see them as the sum of their bank accounts and whether they know how to get out of a limo graciously, we stay separate.

And separate is the opposite of the Buddha’s Hot Dog Order (Make me One with Everything).

The Other Downside

We start to think that being wealthy is a big fat problem. That wealthy people are immoral. That material wealth is wrong. I mean, just look at those asshats with their Marinellos and $2000 mink fake eyelashes.

We Get on the Dark Side of Gratitude.

It’s hard for me to imagine that Gratitude has a dark side.  But really, anything can be used in a dark way.

Honesty.  Charity. Exercise.

Even Gratitude.

The dark side of gratitude is when we are afraid of abundance and all it has to offer us.

The dark side of gratitude says, Don’t Hope for Too Much.

It says,  Be Careful What you Wish For.

It says, People with money are screwed up. You don’t want that.

It says, It’s easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.

It says, To whom much is given, much is expected.

It says, If I have money, my friends will stop having sympathy for me.

BAH! To the Dark Side of Gratitude

Yes, I say, Appreciate the abundance in your life.

And also,  When you have more, you can give more.

And also, Let’s stop loading money with emotions.

Can we do that? Can we stop loading money with emotions and judgment?

Let’s try that for one day.

Let’s do it today.

It’s the shortest day of the year!

What About Simplicity?

Simplicity is GREAT!

Simplicity is discernment.

It’s waiting to buy something that is exactly right instead of buying something that’s almost right.

It’s saying Am I buying this cashmere sweater because I am anxious and want to stop feeling anxious? And then not buying the sweater, and in turn, addressing the anxiety.

It’s saying, Am I buying this cashmere sweater because I will deeply love wearing it? And if so, getting it.

Simplicity is deeply enjoying the stuff you’ve got, and appreciating simple things.

Simplicity is saying I want to deeply enjoy this lamb chop, and I know I could load up my plate with lobster and mac n’ cheese and lots of stuff from the buffet, but right now, let’s stop talking and eat the lamb chop and then we’ll see how we feel.

Simplicity is seeing how we feel. Abundance is seeing how we feel. Gratitude is seeing how we feel.

See the Pattern?

Happy Solstice!

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This Abundance Workshop will remove those beliefs that keep you in poverty, and help you get in the flow of money!

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