The Abundance Mindset

The Alice in Wonderland ride at Disneyland is one of our favorites. When our kids were little, though, it was a little scary for them, but eventually they came to love it. Our oldest Beatrice especially. 

Although Disney has a reputation of sanitizing classic stories, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland included, the silliness and absurdity of Wonderland is still captured in the Disney animated movie and the ride. The novel by Lewis Carroll was about the transition from the innocence of childhood to the confusing complexities and contradictions of adulthood. It explored an absurd dream world that often mirrored anxieties about growing up and societal rules. Alice ultimately represents the sensible individual navigating absurdity. 

Funny how that works. That's how I felt growing up. That's how I feel now. Yes, I created my own anxious absurdity over the years from young adulthood to my early 30's that I struggled to overcome at times. I always thought the universe conspired against me; that God conspired against me. I grew up in scarcity, believing that everything was limited and out of my reach.

But thanks to my own mindful awakening, and my wife Amy's spiritual guidance, I realized the universe is nothing but abundance. That there's nothing but endless potential, resources, love, and opportunities that exist for everyone. That even with the chaotic and dangerous societal absurdity everywhere today, we can navigate it, push back on it, thrive in it, let it go, and express gratitude for the choices we make every day. 

We impart the abundance mindset on our two teens regularly, at least Amy does more consistently, and that's helped them with their own anxieties about growing up. I still trip periodically over my scarcity past and revert, causing me undue angst and stress. I recognize it even as I'm doing it, which is why I can thankfully rebound quickly. Both Amy and I grew up with very little and we're grateful today for what we have today and what we can provide to our children. We also recognize our privilege, too, knowing there are many marginalized families that struggle to make ends meet in our community. 

Which was why we were happy to attend the Mad Hatters Ball — Raíces y Cariño Gala, a fundraiser for the organization that helps local lower-income families experience health, safety, and joy in our community. It was fun dressing up in the "Alice in Wonderland" theme, play silly games, and listen to some amazing young people sing, all for a great local cause. 

This holiday season, avoid the rabbit holes, embody the abundance mindset, and pay it forward however you can. Blessings to you and yours this holiday season. 

Donate Your Date Nights and Help Feed Families

This time last year, we were all super fly disco lemonade.

My wife was PTA president of our girls' school and we had put on a fun 1970's themed auction fundraiser. It was an amazing date night!

That night feels like 10 years ago now. Today, our kids' school is closed for the rest of the year and there will be no fun 1980's themed auction fundraiser as planned. Our local lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders to mitigate the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) limit any and all date nights to cooking at home with the kids, or ordering take-out delivery and/or buying gift cards from local business that are struggling and need our help.

That's great for those of us who are still have jobs and can have stay-cation date nights at home. But for many more families that have one or both parents out of work, it's getting more difficult to put food on the table. Families out of work depend on limited government resources, community organizations, individual donations and food banks. We've already seen the economic toll coronavirus has taken with some of the families we go to school with.

According to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County (where we live), 1 in 4 children and 1 in 5 adults face the reality of hunger. This includes over 55,000 children, seniors, veterans, homeless, working poor, and more who need some help from their neighbors to make it through a tough time. And according to Feeding America, 37 million people face hunger in the U.S. today — including more than 11 million children and nearly 5.4 million seniors. 

The impact of COVID-19 will continue to increase the number of people who will face hunger and need help. 

For those of us who can, why don't we donate one take-out meal or date night per month to our local food banks? 

That's what my wife and I are going to do. You can find a local food bank to donate to by going to Feeding America, or just donate directly to Feeding America. 

So again, if you can, just think about donating one take-out meal or date night per month. We are starting at $50 and you can donate what works for you. 

We know that our $50 can provide dozens of meals for families today.  Hey, we can be cheap dates, have fun at home and help our community! 

Donate your date nights and help feed families! Thank you from #BhivePower!