On a trip to Africa a few years ago I met people who didn’t have to worry about water or electricity bills because they had neither water nor electricity. They didn’t need to be concerned about rising petrol prices because they had no cars. There were no possessions to insure and no taxes to pay because all they had were the crops in the field. Yet they were some of the most beautiful, contented and generous people I have ever met.
The children had no toys and the closest they got to entertainment was front row seats watching a well being dug or following this crazy white lady with a camera and begging to be photographed. It was such a beautiful thing to see their faces when they saw themselves, often for the first time. Their excitement was contagious. Some giggled uncontrollably and others just jumped up and down in sheer delight. They were happy, delightful children just living in the moment and enjoying whatever the moment brought.
I couldn’t help compare them to many children back home, glued to screens, overwhelmed by oceans of toys and often time poor from the demands of extracurricular activities, homework and too many choices.
I couldn’t help compare them to many children back home, glued to screens, overwhelmed by oceans of toys and often time poor from the demands of extracurricular activities, homework and too many choices.
Two things impacted me as I enjoyed the beauty and simplicity of that very different culture.
Firstly, their culture is centred around people. Their lives are uncluttered by the things we see as essential ... they have no fridge, no washing machine, no computer ... few worldly possessions. Apart from their single-room mud brick houses, they have little else but a few cooking pots and utensils which are stored in a corner of the house. Relationships are the priority.
I returned to a society that often values money and the things that money can buy before relationship. And the saddest part is that in the race to accumulate more things, more money, more recreation, more success, there is less and less time for developing rich, deep meaningful relationships.
How often do you try to make time to get together with someone and need to be fitted into their appointment calendar?
Secondly it confirmed to me that abundance has nothing to do with money, material possessions or achievements. Abundance is a mindset. Abundance is all around me wherever I am, it's the state of my heart that determines what I see.
When my heart is grateful, I notice abundance everywhere. I notice beauty in small things. I’m awake to life and to all the good things that come my way in the ordinariness of my day. I’m less likely to focus on what I don’t have and enjoy all I do have. When my heart is full of love, I can accept what others have to give, without expectations ... I can value people just as they are and seek to see the positive in them.
I find it's a daily choice ... a mindset of abundance and a grateful heart or a mindset of scarcity and a heart of dissatisfaction or resentment. It's a constant challenge.
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Proverbs 4:23
Firstly, their culture is centred around people. Their lives are uncluttered by the things we see as essential ... they have no fridge, no washing machine, no computer ... few worldly possessions. Apart from their single-room mud brick houses, they have little else but a few cooking pots and utensils which are stored in a corner of the house. Relationships are the priority.
I returned to a society that often values money and the things that money can buy before relationship. And the saddest part is that in the race to accumulate more things, more money, more recreation, more success, there is less and less time for developing rich, deep meaningful relationships.
How often do you try to make time to get together with someone and need to be fitted into their appointment calendar?
Secondly it confirmed to me that abundance has nothing to do with money, material possessions or achievements. Abundance is a mindset. Abundance is all around me wherever I am, it's the state of my heart that determines what I see.
When my heart is grateful, I notice abundance everywhere. I notice beauty in small things. I’m awake to life and to all the good things that come my way in the ordinariness of my day. I’m less likely to focus on what I don’t have and enjoy all I do have. When my heart is full of love, I can accept what others have to give, without expectations ... I can value people just as they are and seek to see the positive in them.
I find it's a daily choice ... a mindset of abundance and a grateful heart or a mindset of scarcity and a heart of dissatisfaction or resentment. It's a constant challenge.
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Proverbs 4:23
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