I’ve been thinking about what it means to be and have enough. For the past month, I’ve been writing affirmations and sharing them on social media. One of my good friends gave me the idea to print them on products, so I created affirmation candles, magnets and note cards. I’ve even begun reading them to my yoga and meditation students. I know that setting intentions and speaking affirmations can create profound shifts inside of us, because I’ve experienced it. I began setting intentions through my yoga practice in 2015 and when I experienced sweat lodge for the first time in 2016. Prior to that, I had created a luke-warm vision board after watching the film about the Law of Attraction called, The Secret. My vision board ended up filled mostly with money, cars and other people’s dreams. I was trying to set an intention for what I thought I was supposed to want, NOT for what I actually wanted. It wasn’t until I recreated a vision board in 2016 with my true vision that my intentions began to materialize.
We all have a chatterbox in our mind that never really shuts up. Many times that self parrots what our parents, church, teachers or media told us growing up. But what if we don’t like what the chatterbox is saying? Perhaps it says you’re not enough, or you don’t have enough, you’re too fat or too skinny, too lazy or too busy, too good for anyone or unlovable. Maybe it says you’ve done something wrong or should have done something differently. Affirmations help reprogram the chatterbox. Like meditation, it’s a way of redirecting the mind from scattered to focused. And not just focused on anything, focused on your highest dreams and desires.
I still follow the “Being Mary Jane” school of affirmations by writing on post-its and sticking them on my bathroom mirror. (If you’ve never seen Gabrielle Union’s show, you can find it on Netflix. Her autobiography, We’re Going to Need More Wine, is a great read too! Honest and raw.)
When I first started working as a financial advisor back in 2007, I remember trying to figure out how much money was enough. I met people with many millions of dollars of net worth, and they weren’t any happier than me, with my moderate income and single parent shuffle. I remember thinking $5 million was enough, beyond that I’d give it all away. Then, I thought, no, maybe $10 million was enough. Maybe $20 million is enough, or $30 million. What number buys security, happiness or love? The answer, of course, is none of them. We all have heard the cliché, “money can’t buy happiness.” Of course, at the same time we know we need money to meet our basic needs. Once basic needs are met, money doesn’t add to the equation. You can be just as unhappy in a mansion driving a Lamborghini, as you can be in a small home driving a modest car. We live in a country with billionaires, so it seems there is no number that is enough. If that’s the case, once basic needs are met, then every number is enough, because it’s not the number that actually matters.
In Sunday’s yoga session I offered this:
“Abundance is always yours.
Your cup overflows when your heart is full.
Grow compassion.
Be generous.
Serve others.
You have more than enough.”
I encourage you to place that on a post-it note on your bathroom mirror and attach it to your heart. You are enough and you have enough.
I wish you all Freedom, Alignment and Effortless Abundance,
Trish
P.S. The photo is of one of my affirmation candles, “Freedom.” I went to see the film, Harriet, on Friday, so the candle feels extra-relevant. If you're wondering what Freedom smells like, it's Himalayan bamboo, grapefruit, lemongrass, sage and green tea. Check it out in my online store honeybutterflyz.com/online-store. Abundance candles are coming soon!
