by Rev. Crystal Muldrow
“Even after all this time
the sun never says to the earth,
‘You owe Me’.
Look what happens with a love like that,
it lights the whole sky.”
The Sun Never Says, from The Gift: Poems by Hafiz
Summer is a symbol of living an abundant life because the summer solstice itself is a symbol of abundance. Summer is nature’s peak in life. The days are longer, the flowers are blooming, trees are expanding and their roots are moving deeper into the earth. We as humans seem to have more joy in life during the summer. We shed off the old for the new; old clothes, and literally old skin as the winter skin is shed off. We stop from hibernating and want to be outside more. In most of our minds’ eyes, summer is a time of expansion and abundance, where we are outside, doing, and being.
Summer is expansion, growth, and all about abundance. That’s why we are going to talk about abundance throughout the summer. We are going to take advantage of summer and all it symbolizes to examine expansion within our own lives; financially, in healthy living, expansion in love, in giving of self, and being open to receive all of our good.
A lot of people are open to give, not to receive. We’ve been taught to give, yet to receive is selfish. This is part of an old theology and Catholicism:
“It is more blessed to give then to receive” Acts 20:35.
It is good to be of service with time, treasure, and talent and there is also a theory of reciprocity. Reciprocity is an exchange, an equal exchange, in its most literal definition. I prefer to teach from the scripture verse:
“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back” Luke 6:38.
The universe is open, willing, and able to give you whatever you want and whatever you need. It is our consciousness that allows how much we are willing to receive. Humanity is conditioned to expect little and give much. It is the expansion of our consciousness that allows us to receive the blessings of the Universe. God is the Universe, and it is an abundant source to receive from. There are no limits except for the limits we place on it. The practice of reciprocity is a tool to expand our consciousness of abundance, one step at a time, one blessing at a time, one miracle at a time .. until everything in your life is an unmeasured amount of giving and receiving.
Summertime, the days are longer, the sun feeds and nurtures us and mother earth, filling everything with its gifts of abundance, warmth, joy, and light. It is a symbol everyday, not only in summer, that our lives can continue to expand, be nurtured, enriched, and infuse with abundance. If only we are open to receive.
“The abundance of Christ is the natural result of choosing to follow Him.”
– A Course In Miracles, Text Ch 1, V6
I open my mind and heart to Your Spirit of abundance,
and allow Your light to shine in every aspect of my life,
breaking down any obstacle, blockage, hindrance or impediment,
filling me with Divine Energy that guides and empowers me,
moving me ever in the direction of my Greater Good.
Thank You, Living Loving Spirit. Amen