#Adulting #Love

When do we feel like adults?

We do the adult things. We wash the dishes and take out the trash. We pay our bills because who else is going to do it? Often, though, we're wishing or hoping for someone or something to lift us up and take care of everything for us because we are a "small girl" or "just a kid" or "just one person" or because the world feels big and scary. Who doesn't dream of winning the lotto? Who doesn't dream of some benevolent presence to sweep His (or Her) hands across the world and fix all of the world's problems? So when we step into the shoes of being our own and others' protector, it's scary, sometimes it makes us angry, or sad, or overwhelmed, or proud, or happy.

I have a print of a painting done by Lora Zombie called "Panda Tree". In it, a girl with pigtails stands in front of a tree. Pandas are lounging in the tree, all wearing tiny hats. The girl stands in front of a barbed wire fence, holding a gun, and says, "I will keep you alive." When I look at that picture, I feel the fear that she should be experiencing, how alone she is in her task, and wish that the pandas would help her. They can't, though. They're pandas. When my kids were smaller and they couldn't help, I felt somewhat overwhelmed. I bought the picture because I admired that little girl, standing firm against whatever may come her way. But often, when I passed the picture and looked at it, I would often think, "Don't get mad at the pandas." Because why aren't the pandas helping? She's just a little girl! Well, it's because they're pandas! What is a panda going to do?!

I think about all the demands that come our way, how much easier things would be coming from a place of abundance, where we are able to take care of truly the most important things. We're buying organic produce for our family. We're going to the dentist and the doctor regularly because we have the resources. We're paying for tutors. We would have enough so we don't need to worry that one day we won't be able to provide, and that no one will be there to pick up the slack. We're not working two jobs. We're spending time with the ones we love. We're bettering ourselves and our community.

How can we contribute to others if we don't have enough for ourselves? How do we pour from an empty cup? How can we have enough when our paychecks are limited and dependent on us being healthy?

Passive income can be like a money frog: just bringing money in the door for you, while you don't do anything. Sometimes we need to search for our frogs. Where are these frogs? What kind of income can we create that doesn't require our sweat and our life blood for the rest of our lives? What kind of income can we create that just appears in our bank account, or requires only a small piece of our precious time? What good will we do as that money is coming in?

The money frog, Bertha, says: come find me. Give to me, and I will make life better.

I manifest abundance to benefit all. I gather the resources to protect the Earth and its creatures. i decrease poverty so others and I may be able to focus on their most noble goals.