Abundance of Life

Abundance is a word we hear often during this time of  year. Presently, the farmers are busy with the harvest.The writer on spirituality for the Catholic Times would like to define the world as an example of this all-encompassing abundance. The world is filled with air and with an abundance of fruits and vegetables; the oceans with an abundance of sea-life; the earth with an abundance of various kinds of insects. It's difficult to put a limitation on the variety of life that exists.  Even the grains of ocean sand are all different.

God is giving us the use  of this abundance. All that remains for us to do is to receive the abundance. But many are not in a position to enjoy the abundance. The columnist refers to this inability as stemming from a dysfunctional personal spirit, when looking with the eyes results in not seeing. 
 
We can compare the eyes of our spirituality, he says, to a person who has an eyesight problem. If  a person's sight is bleary, all that is necessary is to be fitted with eyeglasses but there are many who are not interested. Spirituality is like being fitted with eyeglasses that allows one to see more. There are many walking in the dark, not knowing where they are going.

The columnist uses the film The Grey, 2012 as an example of people walking in the dark. There is a plane crash and the survivors go from one horrible situation to one even worse. They are attacked by a pack of wolves, and try to escape from the wolfs; ironically in the last scene the hero of the film ends up in the den of the wolfs and the picture ends. 

Similarly, we often try to escape the difficulties of life, the columnist says, and end up at the very center of the difficulties. If we are not going in the right direction we are not able to rid ourselves of the bridles that fetters us. We have to  take the right road with the  correct values. If we are imprisoned by our egoism, we will not be able to see the big picture.

God in his abundance is always relating with us, and when we  enjoy relating with him, we will have spirituality. When we have awe, reverence and wonder we are able to see God relating with his creation and this will enable us to respond with the virtues, says the columnist, like leaves on the sweet potato vine.

When life is lived in harmony with God's will, we can enjoy the abundance in creation. When we are adventuring in an area we do not know, we can be fearful but what do we fear?  Everything is part of God's creation, even the simple grain of sand. Everything is the product of God's abundance and when I am able to have it enter into my thinking, and make it my own, then we will never go hungry before this abundant table that is our world.