My mind feels like the gears on this art journal page-in-progress. (Stencil by Mary Beth Shaw.) Today, the gears are running smoothly, well oiled, in sync. For the past 6 months, they have been churning, working hard, processing a large and heavy decision. It was one of the “should I stay or should I go” decisions. My attachment to the people involved made this process much more difficult.

I found this book to be extremely helpful in clarifying my thought process and highly recommend it for anyone stuck. Necessary Endings taught me to identify whether I should have a realistic hope in the relationship. I was able to step back and analyze patterns of behavior, and also determine whether the energy I expended on this relationship was healthy for me. My conclusion? The organization with which I had a working relationship operates in direct conflict with my heart goals. Twas not a healthy fit for me.

This whole process also taught me a great deal about my heart goals. Abundance seems to be a theme.

Luk 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Giving abundantly produces a connection with others, often prompting those receiving to also give abundantly. My husband has developed a relationship with a “kid” who showed great interest in Scott’s work. Scott taught him how to use all of his equipment, and after much practice, gave him free reign to use the equipment. Scott now considers him part of his video production team. This guy has taken the same philosophy and shared with those he is working with. We are beginning to see a large ripple effect in the video production community. People who were generally very guarded with their equipment and skills are now working together in a generous and cohesive way.

Giving abundantly can produce loyalty in the receiver. I was recently at a small health food grocery in my area. A few months ago, they gave me a bag with their logo for my groceries, a bag that was for sale. My latest visit they noticed that my bag was tearing, so they gave me another bag for free. I didn’t hint or suggest I would like a bag either time. The first act of giving caused me to return to the store. The second act of giving has given me a sense of loyalty to the store. Now I would like to support them as a regular customer.

The opposite of abundant giving would be fear-based control or greed. Many guard their treasure to have a corner on the market, to have what no one else has, to have a name for themselves, to reduce competition. Often self-worth is wrapped up in a name, so a fear of losing self-worth is connected with sharing knowledge or skills. “If I share what I have or know, then someone else may gain a corner on this market. Then I will no longer be the best.”

Giving abundantly with my creative skills has flooded me with inspiration. The more I share what I know with others, the larger tribe of creative cohorts I have. No one is producing what I produce because my own personality and creativity shines through my work. God created us so uniquely that we could all be making the same sort of product, but each person would get a different result. And we all learn from each other.

There are always those people who will steal knowledge and ideas to create gain for themselves. Prosperity to them has everything to do with the name or money. I like my definition of prosperity better: a successful, flourishing or thriving condition, especially in relational and inspirational respects (altered slightly from Dictionary.com).

I am wishing you all an abundant and prosperous life.