An Abundance of Chocolates

Do you remember the movie, “Forrest Gump?”  It is neat to watch over again from time to time.  There are so many positive life messages contained within the movie & it is in my opinion a really super movie.

Tom Hanks’ line of “life is like a box of chocolates” is one that most folks are familiar with.  The character, Forrest Gump describes the similarities between the chocolates & life.  That represents to me living life with an adventurous heart.  It does not need to mean that each one of us needs to have super strengths in every area of life but rather simply live fully using our natural talents.  It is cool to read stories of people with “365” health challenges climb a mountain or go on a bike or running marathon.  I cheer these heroes on.  There is a hero in each of us & we each get to choose to share the natural talents that we have in our own way.  Everyone has something beautiful to share.

I found that the box of chocolates analogy reminds me that it is a choice to look at life through the lens of abundance versus scarcity.  It is amazing how our paths get to cross other peoples’ & the lessons that we experience from these meetings.  Have you had the joy of meeting folks that are absolutely filled with gratitude with their life?  It is surprising to me that often these are the exact same people that have endured or are enduring struggles & may not have much in terms of “stuff”.  The “stuff” that they do have, they share.  These are abundance thinkers & sharing time with these folks is peace personified.  Have you met folks that have a lot of “stuff” yet are aloof, dissatisfied & stating often that they will be happy “once I have this or once that changes.”  Yikes, a whole life could go by “waiting” for “perfect”. 

My choice throughout life has been to choose “abundance” thinking.  Hey, that does not mean that I see the world through rose coloured glasses or don’t get annoyed with some aspects of some days.  We are all human.  Life as a whole though, I find to be an adventure in abundance. 

This is a lot of talk about chocolates for a person with diabetes.  I love chocolate.  And I love living with the knowledge that I get to choose to be thankful.  You know what…I love that if I wanted to, I could eat a whole box of chocolates this Christmas if I wanted to.  Best of all, I love knowing that I will not eat a whole box of chocolates for many reasons.  First, I would rather share the treat.  Second, I love feeling well & the chances of feeling well even with an appropriate “tankard” dose of insulin are not in my favour.  (not to mention the tummy ache that any person would have).  Next, as a parent, we all know that there are “little eyes upon us” & if I make that choice, then that would not be a great example for our “barbaloots” (sons).  Incidentially, if you are a parent, there is an exceptional poem entitled “Little Eyes Upon You”.  I will post that to the Blog soon to share…it is lovely & I will check to see who the author is.  I have a copy of that poem posted on our mantle & it always fills my heart with an abundance of love.  The other reason why I choose one or two chocolates is that I taste & enjoy these treats all the more.  I feel the same way about flowers.  I love flowers.  The outside garden is a joy & I especially love hydrangeas.  Indoors, I have not yet had much success keeping plants going for too long.  I like to joke with my family that I nurture people instead.  My husband gives me 3 lovely hydrangea flowers to put into a vase inside our home from the florists on our anniversary.  He knows that 3 is the abundant number for me.  In our home, great things have come in 3’s!  3 boys, 3 words in “I love you”, and “I am here”, “I will help”,”tell me about”, “I am listening” to name a few of the great 3’s.  I don’t want to sound too much like a Sesame Street episode at this point “brought to you by the number 3” (ha! ha!)

A mentor once shared a gem of wisdom.  He said that when folks have too much of what would otherwise be a good thing, they are unhappy.  Food is a great example.  If we think about food as sustenance for our bodies fueling us for the day in terms of abundance, the “right” amount & type is seen through a lens of health.  Right, we can choose to eat a whole plate of cookies.  No thanks.  The flip side of things is that I also am not prepared to eat a bushel of broccoli either.  With or without diabetes, the abundance is to me, the choice of health building meals with wee treats & that is “just right”.  If I choose to tell myself that I cannot have a treat from time to time I am sure that I would crave, crave crave it.  No way am I going to choose to think in those “scarcity” terms.  Not only do I get to choose what I feed my body yet just as important to me, I get to choose what to feed my mind.

Abundance.  I have exactly what I need & am thankful with what I have.  It is a mindset & we get to choose “abundance thinking.”

Blessings for a day filled with thankful abundance!

Smiles, Saundie :)