Abundancia!

How many grains of sand are in an hour glass?  How many grains comprise the area of beach covered by one average beach blanket?  How many make up the entire stretch of beach?  Or the bottom of the ocean?  How about a desert?

How many blades of grass are in your backyard?  How many at the park?  In a field?  At a golf course?

How many leaves on a tree?  How many in a big pile of colorful fallen leaves?

Whenever I contemplate the natural world, the thing that strikes me the most is the sheer abundance that is displayed at every turn.  It's as if the planet itself is trying to tell us that there is no lack, no shortage of anything, no reason to worry.  Feast, enjoy, celebrate!

A tree doesn't produce one stingy piece of fruit.  It produces several on every branch, dozens on each tree.  Enough to share with others, with the birds, and with the squirrels.  Enough to can, preserve or freeze for the winter.  Sometimes we get such a huge harvest that we are racing to keep up with the bounty ... making pies, jams and jellies as quickly as we can.

How many drops of water in an afternoon rain?  How many snowflakes in a winter storm?

How many stars are in the heavens?  How many planets?  How many galaxies?  For that matter, how many universes are there?

I wrote about abundance, "Abundancia," in the introduction of our Book of Cookies, because a big batch of cookies coming out of the oven is always something to celebrate.

Plenty for all to share.  Scads of cookies baked up fresh for a party, piled high on a tray, is a thing of joy.  We know we can have one more cookie, because there are plenty more where that came from.

At Afternoon Tea, we baked thousands of cookies.  Just like grains of sand, there is no way of knowing exactly how many.  Our shelves and counters were kept stocked full, and there was always plenty for everyone who came through our doors.  Abundancia was a way of life.  It still is.

In a couple of days we'll be celebrating the day we honor the abundance we've been given in life.  Thanksgiving reminds us to never stop counting our blessings, and we will find that they are as plentiful as the hairs on our head.  Nature knows no lack.  May your heart know none, either.

Life's a feast, and we mustn't be stingy with our appreciation or enjoyment of it.  As we kick off the Holiday Season, like Scrooge we must remember to see through grateful eyes and find the joy in giving.  Like the Grinch, we must remember to let our hearts grow big with love and gratitude.  Only when we truly enjoy the people, things and food set before us, do we truly live.  Only when we see the abundance that has always surrounded us, do we feel a sense of the benevolence of our world.  Only when we share the abundance we've been given with those less fortunate, do we understand how truly blessed we have been.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

May you always have more than enough to share!