“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”
—Wayne Dyer
Do you have an abundant mindset? Or are you more of a scarcity mindset person?
I met a lovely couple on a cruise ship a few years ago. Truth be told, I only chatted with them a few times. But during one of those chats, the friend I was traveling with happened to mention to them that I love dog-sitting. This was news to me. I mean, I like dog-sitting, but it’s not something I will go out of my way to make happen.
“Oh yes,” said my friend to the nice couple. “Maryanne loves to travel and stay at people’s homes and look after their dogs. She’s a writer and travels all over the world doing this!”
Now to be fair, I didn’t correct my friend by telling the lovely couple that although I do travel all over the world, writing…the number of times I have stayed in people’s homes, looking after their dog/s while doing so was, well, never.
Instead, I just smiled and nodded. I mean, if I could get travel/writing/dog-sitting gigs like that at cool locations around the globe, I wouldn’t say no.
So perhaps you can guess what happened next?
Sure enough, a few months later, the lovely couple from the cruise ship reached out to me and asked if they could book me—eighteen months in advance—to look after the puppy they would soon be getting. By the time my dog-sitting gig rolled around, the puppy would be just over a year and fully trained.
Heck yeah, I said!
And sure enough, eighteen months later, I found myself on a plane to Tucson, AZ to look after a very well-behaved little dog by the name of Izzy. And get this: not only did Izzy’s mom & dad—the lovely couple from the cruise—treat me to a yummy dinner out, they also took me to Costco the next day and filled up the grocery cart with everything a gal could possibly want to eat for the next two weeks…and would not let me spend a dime of my own money.
And so it came to pass that I had a delightful (and very productive) two weeks at a beautiful home in Tucson…writing to my heart’s content and taking uber-cute Izzy on plenty of walks.
The total cost to me? My airfare.
But even that was pretty much negated because what the lovely couple ALSO gave to me— as a thank you for flying to Tucson & looking after Izzy—was six complimentary nights at a hotel in Vegas. Wait, what? Yes, you read correctly. Except that if you’re thinking they put me up in a typical Vegas hotel room, you’d be wrong. I stayed in a suite…and a stunning one at that. It was so swanky, I didn’t even want to leave it to go wander around Vegas. But I did (after getting my writing done in the mornings).
And here’s where this story takes a bit of a strange turn (in the gratitude & abundance department): remember the friend of mine who told the lovely couple on the cruise ship that I was pretty much a professional dog-sitter?
Well, she joined me in Tucson for my last few days there, then we drove to Vegas together. And even though she directly benefitted from the generosity & kindness of the lovely couple, my friend’s scarcity mindset, frugality and cheapness astounded me.
Here we were staying FOR FREE in a stunning hotel suite in Las Vegas…and yet she wanted to eat dinner every night at the cheapest burger joints in town. She was so angry at the way she was treated by the rental car company, she wasted three hours one morning complaining to them…and managed to get the entire car rental fee refunded.
She paid me back money she owed me in counterfeit bills (yes, you read correctly). She blew a gasket when I wanted to give the piano player in the bar a little extra tip. And she wouldn’t even consider leaving a tip for the housekeeper at the hotel…in the $2000-a-night hotel suite that she was not personally paying a dime to stay in.
I could go on, but I won’t. I think you get my point.
But I will say this: when it comes to having an abundant mindset, personally I choose to be profoundly grateful for all that I have…because I am truly blessed to have so much. And what I’ve noticed is that the more grateful I am for all that comes my way, the more that keeps coming my way.
“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you”
—Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance; A Daybook of Comfort & Joy
As for my friend? Well, she’s on her own journey. To each their own. But I must confess…the more abundance I experience, the stranger it is to observe a scarcity mindset in others.
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