Before pulling out of the race, Ross Perot estimated he had spent $10 million on his bid for the presidency.  Even more surprising to me was that he had been prepared to spend $100 million.  Thinking about this made me realize there may be an individual “out there” who might be the perfect person to guide us through all the turmoil we currently have in our world, but, ironically, he probably couldn’t afford to let us all know he exists! 

Additionally, we have all read about people being awarded huge sums of money in lawsuits, or athletes, executives, and movie stars who earn more money in a year than most people will see in entire generations of their families.

My initial reaction to all of this is how ludicrous it is, but my underlying concern deals with the greater issue of abundance versus waste.  There has got to be something wrong with a society that matter‑of‑factly accepts these ridiculous dollar amounts when there are so many going without the basics.

Edwene Gaines, a world‑renowned speaker who says she is “committed to the transformation of the abundance consciousness of planet Earth,” said the following during a talk I once heard: “… there is more than enough to go around, on planet Earth, for every single one of us to have all we desire.  There is no lack on this planet.  There is enough fruit that falls off the trees every day to feed this planet thousands of times over.  I’m told there’s a forest located in the Soviet Union that is so large, if we wanted to, as a human family, we could build a home the size of the White House for every man, woman and child on planet Earth out of that one forest.  There is no lack on this planet.  There is more than enough to go around. 

“We have a friend who is in the banking business and she’s made it her personal study to find out how much money there is on planet Earth.  She’s added up all the currencies, of all the countries all over the world and she’s come up with a figure that right now, for every single one of us, is equivalent to four and one‑half billion dollars apiece.”

Now some might say, “Ellen, don’t sweat it, like Edwene says, there’s enough money for all of us—so who cares how much is spent, made or awarded.”  Well, I don’t think that’s the point!

I hold many prosperity beliefs:  when we feel we are worthy we will  receive all we desire; when we let go of what we don’t need, our vessel will be filled with what we do need; each person brings into their own life exactly what they can handle; we are capable of manifesting all that we want; and so on.

I don’t, however, feel the basis for prosperity is that there is plenty of money there so let’s all grab ours and spend it as fast as we can.  In fact, that concept reminds me of a friend who used to give talks where he would draw the mental picture of someone frantically running around, grabbing all the “stuff” he could hold and then racing home to “stash” it away.  Later though, this person developed a different mind‑set and took a good look at what he had gathered.  He realized most of what he’d grabbed he neither wanted nor needed!  He had just grabbed it because he felt he wouldn’t get his “fair share” if he didn’t play the game.

I am not suggesting that if we have an abundance we must feel guilty, rush out and give it all away.  What I am saying is that we need to develop a mind‑set which causes us to look at that fine line between abundance and waste, between grabbing just because that is what society tells us we need to do in order to be happy and understand what is really important to us.  Do I want a nice home.  Sure.  Do I need it to be on a lake?  Well, if I can afford to take care of it and I will appreciate the beauty or make use of it through boating, swimming, etc., why not?  Do I need the house to have 10 bedrooms even though I live alone, never have house-guests and wouldn’t considered renting any of it out?  Oops, I just stepped over the line!

I think we first need to consciously realize we are all connected.  Next we need to get clear about what we really want—what is “enough”—and then we need to learn to share the rest for the better of the whole.  And by share I don’t mean give — it’s the difference between giving someone a fish which will take care of one meal or teaching them to fish so they can take care of all the rest of their own meals.  Additionally, just because we don’t care to teach, doesn’t mean we can’t do something for those who do, so they will be able to do the teaching.

I always smile when I think about the subject of abundance because it make me recall the movie/show “Star Trek.”  Remember the replicator—that wondrous machine that replicated whatever the person using it requested?  Do you ever recall seeing anyone insert any money or credit card into that thing?  For that matter, do you ever recall anyone ever exchanging money with anyone else during any of those episodes?

No—the focus of that society was never on money.  They had grown beyond focusing on money and, therefore, no longer needed it.  So what was their focus?  I’m sure we each have our own ideas on that one, but I’m sure we will all agree it wasn’t on what was lacking.  In fact, I think they had finally reached a point where they were able to put into practice the law of nature which says “what you focus on is what you get.”  Focus on a lack of money and you’ll have that.  Focus on love, sharing, caring, abundance, and health—and that’s what you’ll get.