Up until a few years ago, “abundance” seemed about as attainable for me as a round-trip ticket to the moon.

For most of my life, I was a seeker.

Only, I did not even know what it was I was seeking.

I felt a sense of urgency, not being able to be still. I would not put down roots for more than a few years and I felt rather isolated.

Sadly, many of the relationships that I did have were either struggling, extremely challenging or seemingly empty.

Money has typically taken a back seat in my life to other things. I have felt from a young age that finding some sort of purpose in my life which could be driven by my passion was more of a priority.

I was scrambling, feeling isolated, rather desperate, but I did not feel that I could settle.

I felt deprived.

I would see people who were happy. Not just happy in a sense that they had just gotten those fabulous shoes that they had been wanting, or a promotion, or had just taken some sublime vacation—but happy in a different way.

I had been exposed to certain people who truly radiated the type of inner joy that I wanted, not as a result of some temporary external appeasements, but the type of joy that cannot be taken away.

I am grateful to have caught these glimpses of something that, to me, was much more of a priceless type of wealth than anything else I could possibly have ever sought after.

It is the wealth of truly living.

I have just begun to really realize and experience what abundance feels like in my life.

The first step for me in allowing abundance into my life was to first see the abundance that was already there.

We all have a personal treasure at our disposal.

We can picture the type of treasures that are often eluded to in story books or movies—the type with diamonds, thousands of gold coins, rubies, emeralds and strands of pearls spilling lazily over the edge of a treasure chest.

You never know, maybe this literally is the type of treasure you have been seeking. But, if you are not diving around in the oceans looking for a sunken ship, and you’re just trying to find and sustain some joy in your daily life like the rest of us, then this is dedicated to you.

We struggle.

We struggle on a daily basis to rise above the mundane, to go to our jobs to make some money, and we try really hard to find love and create the life we really want.

Or, maybe you have given up on this. If this is the case, I urge you to find some sense of renewed hope—it is all there for you to see if you would like, but this is a choice.

Every day, and every moment, this is a choice that we have, and this is a beautiful thing to realize.

Many of us are desperate for connection—real connection with others, and would love an abundance of soul-friends.

We have free will and every day comes with new opportunities to reset and redirect ourselves to both receiving and creating abundance.

This is where that choice comes in, and our choice is to recognize that the treasure is all there. It is there for us to see, and what we do not yet see we can choose to create willingly.

When we choose to step out of our default modes, and to both see and allow the opportunities that are there within us and all around us, the treasure begins to reveal itself.

If what we see in our outside world is a projection of what we see within ourselves, this is a good place to start.

We can choose to see how we ourselves sparkle by going inside of ourselves.

There is a treasure that exists inside of every one of us. The more grace and acceptance that we choose for ourselves, the better we can see this as well.

If we see some things that we do not like about ourselves—unconditional love is always an option.

We can love ourselves in the way that we would like for everyone that we know to love us.

We all have a very unique set of skills, talents, and perspectives, and have so much to offer both to ourselves and our worlds—if we allow ourselves to shine in these ways.

We can make a practice of going inside of ourselves to rediscover or renew our sense of curiosity, play, and passions that are ours alone.

Nobody else can do exactly what we would like to do, in the exact way that we would love best to do it.

Sometimes the dust has settled on these aspects of ourselves. Others have taught us to bury it through their own projections, judgments, insecurities and fears, but at the end of the day we have allowed this somehow ourselves.

Part of our treasure may begin to be uncovered by our choosing to see the sparkle of the stars, or the glistening of the water as the sun hits the waves. It can present as simply as seeing the twinkle in the eyes of a loved one when they are experiencing something joyful.

Or, it may appear like endless gold coins as smiles on the faces of our coworkers. Even during challenging times, we are all in this together. Sometimes it is in stepping back to see that collaborative effort that is there underneath it all to renew our appreciation for what it really is.

We can sometimes struggle with relationships with our families, but these can also be the true diamonds in our life. Sometimes, just like diamonds in the rough, these relationships can be hard and cut like diamonds as well. Once we renew our capacity to breathe some unconditional love and acceptance, and remove any projected expectations and judgment, we can see the bonds that are there.

Diamonds themselves are held together by covalent bonds. These types of bonds share energy, which we all do. We do this on another level though with our family. We typically share such similar blood and DNA with these people in this world with whom we sometimes struggle. But, we have the opportunity to rise above that when we can release judgment and just love.

Our connections with everyone, be it with our romantic partners, our children, colleagues or strangers that we come across on the street can be seen not as a strand of pearls, but rather as a strand of moments.

We try to plan, force, or even focus too much on the future especially in romantic relationships and other long term dynamics. This is like focusing all of our energy into the building of a roof of a house without first being present to build the walls or study foundational components. All the while, we skim across our everyday interactions, taking for granted the opportunities to connect in deeper ways even in those moments.

The future is not something that even exists yet—our best guess for this is make-believe.

The present moment is the only time that is ever really real, and rich relationships can be built, moment by moment.

By choosing to be present and to do our best to connect without getting ahead of ourselves by having fears or expectations about the future, we have greater opportunity to connect in ways that are truly priceless.

We can choose not to commit to the future, but rather to the strand of moments. The future can then unfold on its own, in a beautiful manner.

If our relationships are nothing but a strand of moments, it is kindness, presence, acceptance and gratitude that strings them together, and intentionality which provides the momentum for the strand to continue.

For me, it was when I first began to allow my eyes and heart to see and feel the treasure in my life that things began to change.

I intentionally chose to see the glisten of the treasure in my life that was already there, and when I made a practice of this, it became easier.

I saw that some of the relationships in my life just needed a shift in perspective on my part, and other unhealthy relationships I chose to allow to drift away.

I have finally found somewhat of a stillness in my life—a calm amidst the chaos. Of course, I still have struggles and I always will, but I have learned the power in having the option to choose to see things in a different manner.

The more of the treasure that we choose to dust off, the more we can see. It can be a dynamic that can snowball and can even serve as a means of realizing abundance which partially sustains itself.

We can sense this treasure, for it is all there—for our eyes to truly see, our ears and minds to listen, our mouths and noses to breathe in, our lips to taste and our open hearts to feel.

Moment by moment by moment…

~

Author: Katie Vessel

Editor: Travis May

Image: Flickr/Anathea Utley