This post is the third in a series called “Awakenings in Africa,” focusing on some of the most powerful soul messages I received while recently spending four months in Kenya.
“He is rich who needs the least.” – author unknown
I thought I understood the meaning of this expression, you know, that money can’t buy happiness; life is about more than our material possessions… and all that. But it never really hit home until I spent four months in Kenya – often with no Internet access, sometimes without running water, many times without electricity (due to power outages) and RARELY a hot shower.
And I had the time of my life.
Oh, don’t get me wrong… I love my technology, fast car, comfortable living, hot baths, and luxury resorts as much as anyone.
Yet, Kenya revealed to me, time and time again, that material things and simple luxuries may enhance a “rich life” but it is not dependent on them.
Many people there still carry water and firewood on a daily basis, and live in tiny, tin-roofed houses or one-room mud huts often with no indoor plumbing, no refrigeration, and unpredictable, if any, electricity.
In many cases, the amenities are few, and worldly possessions such as cars, computers, and spacious contemporary homes available only to a small percentage of the population. From the point of view of material wealth their existence might seem ‘poor,’ yet their spirit, resilience… and the beauty of life (and wildlife!) that is all around them is so very rich.
The Kenyan people (especially the children) gave me new perspective on what constitutes a truly RICH life.
I was vividly reminded that true abundance is always available to us in the present moment in sooo many ways, if we just take time to notice it, experience it, and appreciate it.
When I was with the kids at Kipchamgaa Children’s Home … whether sharing meals together (especially if it included chapatti), eating birthday cake, painting, drawing, reading, watching movies, playing outdoor games, or carrying firewood from the forest (yes, even ‘work’ was fun)… JOY was everywhere. And always available in the present moment—when you were present to it. Fear, unhappiness, and worry didn’t exist when we were just “in-the-moment.”
When we were in the energy of JOY, and play (which was a lot of the time) it always felt like the children not only had “enough”… they had everything.
They KNEW the ‘power of now’; the power of presence—where there was no sense of lack, only what was there now–freedom, fun, and LOVE.
Never was “the abundance of now” more apparent than on my birthday in August when I decided to celebrate with 46 enthusiastic kids, 2 small bags of balloons (one for each child) an open playing field of outdoor games, skipping, and general goofiness. That and a lot of love in the air.
To top it off, my friend “Fancy,” the director of the home’s daughter, made three (!) birthday cakes–without an oven, I might add, in a stovetop pressure cooker! She cut each cake into 16 pieces, so there was cake for 48. Amazing. The kids devoured the cake (a special treat for them) and then all sang Happy Birthday to me—twice. Some were still singing it to me the next day.
For the cost of some balloons and three homemade cakes (about $10 all in), and a whole lot of improv-play, I had one of the richest birthdays and most “abundant days” I’ve ever experienced.
I thought about how I could take the experience of this day into my everyday life.
And I thought about what the great writer Oscar Wilde said: Life is far too important to be taken so seriously.
I realized people with an abundant life “play” within their life; feel they have the time (even a few moments) and therefore make the space to play—to enjoy what’s right there in front of them.
Playfulness is the energy of abundance, of freedom.
Play invites change, possibility and high-level creativity—in work and in life.
What does abundance look like to you?
Having time to play?
Being free to pursue your passion? Doing work you love?
Experiencing something extraordinary?
Does your life feel “rich”?
No?
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