Abundance--Not Scarcity

There is Abundance, Not Scarcity

Paul (not his real name) arrived at my office the other day, while I was on the phone with a prospective patient. He overheard me telling the caller that the best plan might be to go to one of my colleagues closer to where she lived, making treatment more convenient.

After the call, Paul shook his head. “Do you know how unusual your brand of medicine is?” He continued: “Any medical doctor you call would try to convince you that theirs was the ONLY practice for you. They wouldn’t give you the telephone number of a competitor. That’s the LAST thing they would do.”

He also reminded me how he eventually came to me: he had called an acupuncturist about 15 miles away and that person in turn referred him to me because it would be a better fit (location, health issue, etc.).

Paul works for the medical insurance industry, and he has been around western medicine for a long time. This seems to be the first time he has run into what I’ll call the “abundance model.” The Abundance Model (my term) says that there’s no shortage of sick people. It also says that for every person I refer to a colleague, I will likely get two additional calls from new clients. (Honest, it’s true, not just a theory.)

In my teaching career at the acupuncture institute, I know many of my colleagues and have referred many clients to them. So if you encounter a practice (of any kind) where there seems to be an air of stiff competition, you might be dealing with someone who is more concerned about his/her profits than about your well-being.

Do you have a sense of suffering in your life around scarcity? Competition?

Did you compete for your grades in school? (Can’t everyone get an A?) Do you like to have the newest smart phone on the day it is issued? (So what happens if you have to wait another week or two?)

What if your orientation to life becomes “abundance?” What if you just knew in your bones that there is enough for everyone?

And if that becomes the way you think, then how much of your suffering would cease?