Have you ever found yourself contemplating buying something you might not otherwise have purchased in order to take advantage of a special marketing offer? It can be tempting. We live in an age of consumer culture which showers us with sales, discounts and coupons if we act now or just add a little more to our shopping cart. Intellectually we know it’s all designed to get us to buy more, but emotionally we can get sucked in. While some offers can be a helpful windfall, it’s important to remain discerning of whether it’s the best offer for you right now.
I recently received a coupon from a grocery store that I frequent for a significant discount on my next order. A nice, unexpected bonus, but I had recently made a grocery shopping trip and didn’t have a lot on my list for this next order. As I put my order together, my total fell short of the minimum purchase for the offer and the expiration date was only a few days away. I went back to see if adding a few extra non-perishable items would get me to that total. After re-calculating, I saw that I would need to add still more to my order. In that moment, I realized this offer no longer felt like a gift. I was going to have to buy more and more to fit the requirements and I just didn’t need those extra items. The mental body might reason, “But if they won’t go bad before you eventually use them, why not?” But the energy of stocking more and more beyond my true needs just didn’t feel good. So, I checked in with my soul about whether I should try to use this coupon and heard to let it go. If the coupon didn’t fit my needs, then it wasn’t really for me. I downsized my order back to its original size and felt lighter again.
Did I really check in about a coupon? You bet! The moment something feels discordant within is our signal that we are likely stepping out of alignment with our divine selves, and we should immediately take a pause, take a breath and check in with our divine guidance. This is how we heal ourselves, one moment at a time. Small steps count! In this case, I would have been coming from scarcity if I made myself buy things I didn’t really need in order to get a discount. Again, the mental body might question this: “But isn’t being able to get more things for less money an example abundance?” Not necessarily. If we have to scramble and jump through hoops that we weren’t otherwise going to jump though, then we’re re-enforcing the fear that we’re going to lose out on something. This is not Divine Abundance! It is lack and limitation. Anything we manifest in our lives from that energy, will carry that energy. Do we really want lack and limitation radiating all around us?
Author Lynn Twist, who wrote The Soul of Money, has a wonderful saying about abundance: “What you appreciate, appreciates.” When I’m getting my needs met while focusing on joy, flow and ease, I’m holding that energy of gratitude which expands and creates more abundance. That consciousness leads to many wonderful new creations when we’re open to how and when they come into our lives. When I let go of that coupon, I felt abundant because I could let it go. A week later, I received a new coupon with another significant discount, this time with an expiration date much further out. Maybe I will have enough in my next order to get the discount. Maybe not. But I feel at peace and whole either way and that is the true gift.
Marsha Hankins recently posted a blog with some great insights about abundance.
10 Keys to Unlimited Abundance
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