Abundance

Rather than focus on quantity or scarcity,

Feel the fullness of abundance.

During a visit with family last week, we spent a hot afternoon in my hometown of Exeter, NH. Unbeknownst to us, it was Farmers’ Market day at Swazey Parkway, a single-lane road flanked on both sides by lawns trimmed in tall shade trees along the Swamscott River. We wandered by vendor tables, eating cups of ice cream from Stillwells Creamery. We surveyed mounds of late summer tomatoes, vegetables, mushrooms, and sprouts. My brother-in-law bought a bag of kettle corn. My nieces and I tested the organic soaps and lotions.

As we sought shade under a tree, we looked across the river. I pointed out the renovated brick mill buildings where my parents lived for a year after selling the house I grew up in and the place where my husband and I were kayaking and almost tipped when the Independence Museum commemorated the arrival of a signed copy of the Declaration of Independence to town on July 16, 1776, by firing the Parkway’s two Revolutionary-era canons. I glanced downriver and back along the shoreline where I played with my childhood friends. I listened to my loved ones talk about their lives and the sway of trees in the wind. I felt a flush of abundance.

Abundance

"Abundance" comes from the Latin word abundantia, meaning "fullness" or "plenty." Its meaning shifts depending on its context. In economics, it is the opposite of scarcity. In ecology, it refers to how common or rare a species is in relation to others in its environment. In a broader sense, abundance describes a rich and fulfilling life filled with gratitude and connection. 

In their 2025 book Abundance, Erra Klein and Derek Thompson write, “The word ‘abundance’ speaks of a cornucopia, all good things for everybody. But the world of abundance has trade-offs, and trade-offs require choices” (213). Like all good things, we have to choose it.

Feeling Abundance

Feeling abundance is a positive and empowering state characterized by deep gratitude, genuine contentment, and a strong sense of sufficiency and belonging. It extends beyond having plenty to that which is emotionally rich, meaningful, and supportive. In her 2019 poem “Abundance,” Amy Schmidt writes in memory of Mary Oliver:

It’s impossible to be lonely

when you’re zesting an orange.

Scrape the soft rind once

and the whole room

fills with fruit.

Look around: you have

more than enough.

Always have.

You just didn’t notice

until now.

Cultivating Abundance

Feeling abundance means choosing to shift your mindset from scarcity to possibility, new growth, and fulfillment. Cultivating abundance involves shifting focus away from a mindset of scarcity and limitation toward possibility and expansion by intentionally identifying and appreciating what is already present in our lives. Fostering a mindset of abundance involves acknowledging existing strengths and skills while offering plentiful resources and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

It takes identifying and removing limiting beliefs to build confidence and create sustainable habits that will attract abundance into every area of our lives. For me, cultivating abundance takes slowing down, spending time with family and friends, and acknowledging gratitude.

Whether you’re navigating personal transitions or organizational changes, a future where abundance isn’t just an idea but your everyday reality is possible. A mindset of abundance helps people and organizations embrace change with greater confidence, navigate transitions more effectively, and renew motivation and energy to create new pathways for lasting fulfillment and success.

Are you skeptical?

Try it. You may be surprised how renewing a mindset of abundance can be.

Imagine waking up each morning with a deep feeling of abundance.