Scarcity and abundance, which one is you?

Scarcity and abundance, it is the double edges of a sword. I have heard many opinions about these concepts: “poverty is the enemy of education”; “Necessity is the mother of inventions”; “Money is the root of all evil”. Over time, my opinion about these concepts has changed. I want to share a story. 

Last year, I was working on a social venture to provide warm and portable shelters for homeless people. It triggered my thinking and brought my attention to this phenomenon after seeing hundreds of thousands of homeless people sleeping on the street under chilly weather in San Francisco. I was so curious about how their life was like, what they thought about the issue, why they became homeless, and how I could help. 

It was intimidating approaching to them and listening to their stories initially. I went to the street with two friends and started the conversation with a lady who’s playing crosswords. From the story, I learnt that she is a missionary. She had a good education, but due to health issues, she couldn’t afford her life suddenly. Over 10 years, she hustled between different cities to teach homeless people to do good things, rather than being alcoholic and drug-addicted. She made lots of friends on the street. During the short 40 minutes, many people came to deliver food to her. She had a deep belief that if she kept spiritual practice and praying to God, she would move to government housing under construction across the road soon. 

She was scarce in terms of finance. However, she was abundant in many other ways, including spirituality. She constantly spread love to other people and lifted them up no matter how bad their situations were. She made us believe that we are all human beings of dignity. With more appreciation and humility, it’s possible to change the world slowly but gradually. 

We were all born from different backgrounds, which means we all had different starting points in terms of physical resources. Having money doesn’t necessarily mean that you have an abundant mindset. People think that if I have enough money as Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, I will definitely share. Nonetheless, the truth is that we will never have enough, because of greed, jealousy, and pride. I have seen so many people who do not have much, but they are willing to share. Understanding and practicing the art of sharing makes us abundant. Be more compassionate, no matter how much we have.

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; forgive them anyway. 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. 

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. 

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. 

The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. 

In addition to poverty and hunger, the world’s biggest problem is loneliness and indifference. 

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Be good anyway. 

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you have anyway. 

The world’s hunger for love and approval, beyond the hunger for things. 

We must love till it hurts. After that, there is no hurt, only love. 

Quote by Mother Teresa.