On Abundance
”…it will be hard to let go
of what i said to myself
about myself
when i was sixteen and
twentysix and thirtysix
even thirtysix but
i am running into a new year
and i beg what i love and
i leave to forgive me”
“i am running into a new year,” by Lucille Clifton
When I chose my theme for 2022, I had a feeling that it was going to be a two-parter. “Ease” sparkled at me, and the immediate word that followed it was “Abundance.” I have been excited about Ease & Abundance as interdependent themes all year.
What is abundance? Merriam-Webster tells me it is:
an ample quantity; profusion
affluence, wealth
relative degree of plentifulness
While I won’t say no to definition 2, I am most intrigued by definition 3. I like that the degree itself is relative, because what I experience as abundance may be someone else’s daily, normal life.
I wrote awhile back about grappling with the tough reality that there are some things in life that I have let go of, and other things in my life that have let go of me. Like Lucille Clifton in the poem above, I am running into a new year, headlong. There are some dreams that are not making it into 2023 with me. There are some friendships not making it into 2023 with me. There are some goals not making it into 2023 with me. I ask forgiveness of what I leave behind as I go.
I am learning to see abundance not simply as more, as it were, but also deeper. And depth is my favorite vertical in the world. I am blessed to have abundant friendships not because I have a million different friends, but I have deep, long-lasting connections with the people I love. I have abundant ideas for books to write, poems to bring forth, art to create. I may not bring every single idea to full execution in this lifetime, and that’s okay. I have an abundance of time within which to make my art. I choose not move from a place of lack or pressure or “running behind” when it comes to my art. I do not take another day of life for granted, but I do choose to take the long view of my creation timeline. If, in another decade, I am still applying myself to writing, applying, and creating, I know I will see results aplenty. For me, success is obedience to the call, nothing more.
I am excited to see what abundance looks like in my life in 2023. I'm excited to be on the lookout for it, meeting every encounter I have with plentifulness with abundant gratitude. What was your 2022 themed around? What will you be on the lookout for in 2023?
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