Ominous Abundance

Ominous Abundance is a concept I explore in "You Are Your Career." These words came to me as my wife and I were hiking a trail in the vicinity of Mt. Rainier. We encountered a large, healthy chipmunk, a huge black raven and a buck deer, who seemed to be in velvet. I t was a foggy day and many of the valleys we saw were shrouded in fog. That's when the words Ominous Abundance flashed in my mind. I wondered why. It took me awhile to figure it out.

I suppose you could interpret the words in many ways, but what occurred to me was that the animals were living in the abundance of the forest but had no idea what events outside of their control might suddenly alter their lives completely. For instance, since they could not see into the foggy valleys they would not know if a predator might be stalking them. If climate change or a forest fire were to change the landscape of their habitat, I wonder if they could survive under the new conditions. When we saw the creatures they were fat and happy, living the good life of animals well suited to their environment. And yet, I continued to have this feeling of dread.

It finally came to me what the real learning might be: any life form on the planet, most especially human critters, might have a false sense of well-being when random, unpredictable factors might suddenly disrupt their lives.

Here are some examples of what I am writing about as it might relate to your life: recession, weather related storm damage, the loss or gain of a personal relationship, a birth or death - - - need I go on?

Abundance is a good thing, and you may enjoy abundance for long periods of time. But to be more aware of the tenuous nature of abundance seems like an ominous idea. How can you reconcile the good things you seem to be able to control in your life with an unknown threat that may destroy it? I think this is a close as I can come to explaining Ominous Abundance. I didn't ask for the words to pop into my brain, but pop they did.

This entire experience feels like a wake-up call to me. The approach I have taken most recently in my own life is to enjoy what I have now; to nurture important relationships; to think optimistically, but with my eyes and ears kept open; to do work I feel is important; to be relaxed about what I cannot know in advance; to adapt as necessary; to acknowledge greater powers than myself; to live below my means and to enjoy life.

My advice to you: Dance when you get a chance; anytime, anywhere.