Abundance Mentality...

You know when you go to something and expect nothing but leave a changed person?  When you are in a rut and you feel like you can't do one more thing and then you do and it's one of the best things you've ever done?  Has that happened to you?  Well, last week, it happened to me.

Last Wednesday, my work had a mandatory "team building" session for two hours.  It was scheduled for 3-5 and we were enticed by knowing when we were done, there was to be beer and wine and "heavy" appetizers.  The email to notify all of us went out a few weeks ago, when I wasn't on a "change my life and get thinner" plan so I was stoked.  I even asked the boss what kind of  "heavy" appetizers I was to expect.  But as the day rolled around and I became more committed to my health plan, I dreaded the whole thing. 

I sensed that the crowd that showed up felt the same way.  "Are we doing a ropes course?" one of the physical therapists said, and then another co-worker said, "Are we gonna stand around, hold hands and sing Kum-ba-ya?" to which we all laughed nervously.  All I could think about was the appetizers in the other room and how was I gonna make a clean get away...

The meeting started and I could see where the management team was going.  We are a great agency, a great place to work but we could be better and we, as employees, could be happier.  Sometimes, since we do such emotional and difficult work, things can slip...our work can and our relationships can.  There is no doubt that I let my personal relationships slip when I am so emotionally drained from supporting others.

They threw around terms like integrity, value added, and win/win.   I liked what was being said, hoped that we all heard the same thing and wished it was almost over.  I was starving, the food was in the other room and the beer and wine was chilling on ice in the room we were in.  I was thinking this wasn't a "win/win" for me...

Then our communications person began to talk about a trip she had been on and how it had changed her son's life.  She took him to a country with much less than ours and he noticed how happy these folks were.  He talked to his mother and wondered how can that be.  Then she used the term "abundance mentality" and my ears perked up.  Sounded like an interesting thing to really listen to.


She read the definition:   Abundance Mentality flow s out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity.

Wow...being a person or a business who works with integrity and caring, that understands that we all deserve to be happy and have opportunities...yes, I whole heartedly agree. 

It hit me...that's what this meeting is about.   It's not about making tons more money and having us work harder, because Lord knows, we all work pretty hard.  It's not about some nurse being better than another and getting paid more and bringing in more...it's about all of us being the best we can be, working as hard as we can and when we can't, having another one of us there to pick up the slack.  It's about having a family life and personal time to be a productive, positive member enjoying what we have.  And, finally, it's realizing our precious worth in this agency, in this town and on this earth so we can serve others joyfully.  That's what this whole team building thing was about.

I have worked in a lot of different areas of nursing and found my way back to this one.  I loved each one at the time and felt like I was serving.  But to go into a person's home, become part of the family and be a nurse is the best.  It feels like service but it also feels like what a person is supposed to do.  What it doesn't feel like is a job.  I am very lucky and sometimes I do get tired and sad and use the wrong coping mechanisms to deal with these things.  I learn time and time again that no one is perfect. 

Abundance mentality is a new concept to me.  I mean, not so much the concept of supporting your fellow man and giving to folks with less without thinking there will be none for you...but the definition of it.  It makes sense and makes me more aware of how I can strive to do my job and live my life every day...not worrying so much that if I give someone a piece of the pie, I might not get enough, but knowing that I can go out and find more pie or just be happy with the small piece that I get that day.

Oh, wait, I am not eating pie anymore!  But, the fact remains the same...if we go about our lives serving others without expecting in return, then the world will be a better place.  I also know that I feel better and more content when I am serving others than worrying about who's gonna serve me.  It just makes my life simpler and I like it that way. 

Thanks for listening to whats been rattling around in my brain...

We'll tawk tomorrow,
I love you all,
Terry

Comments

Elizabeth said…
It sounds great. And it sounds like you effectively avoided the heavy appetizers, too!
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