When I think of the word abundance it reminds me of laughter, wealth and happiness. And when I see it written down, I see three separate words: A - Bun - Dance. Then my imagination goes wild, and I think how brilliant it would be to invite all my friends to ‘A Bun Dance.’ I would make up the invitation as follows:
DRESS CODE: Anything Goes—as long as it’s bright, fun and makes you look and feel like a million dollars. FOOD: Gourmet Meets Street—with hotdogs, caviar, double chocolate mousse and Swedish Fish for added color. MUSIC: Eclectic Mix—jazz, soul, zydeco, rock n’ roll and harp (for those who want a quiet corner to talk and ponder upon life’s riches). VENUE: Anywhere in America—since it truly is a place of abundance.
I realized this yesterday when I was driving behind a big, old truck piled high with garbage that looked like it was about to topple on top of the car behind—which in this case was mine. It wasn’t household rubbish like plastic water bottles, rotten vegetables or old mascara brushes—this was construction demolition left over from an old house in which a bald teddy bear and a chipped china cup had been abandoned to finally bite the dust alone.
The truck was homemade as if a hard-working family had tied wooden boards together on top of a rusting chassis for hauling waste at a cheap rate. If it had been on a different road like some part of India where families live on garbage heaps collecting things of value to sell—there would probably have been lots children sitting on top of it.
And this truck—it was such a blessing to me. It made me realize that I have everything and everything that I have is full to the brim. As I sit in my small apartment, which is fragrantly perfumed by a big bunch of ‘thank you’ lilies gifted from friends who just stayed the weekend, I accept and welcome all that life has given me. I am surrounded with abundance; gifts over the years from family and friends: a vase of happiness bamboo shoots, a small flower ornament, and a pot bought from a vacation spot called Shangri-La.
My life is so spilling over with abundance, it is hard to even count up my blessings for fear that I have too much–and that is why I must. If I don’t see the magic all around me—it will not exist. I will simply be sleepwalking through my life and missing out on all that this planet has to offer—and believe me—where we live—it has EVERYTHING to offer.
A teacher once said, “If anybody should be happy, it should be us. We have so much. We have toilets, refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, vacuum cleaners, garbage disposals, water coming out of the walls (even hot, if we turn on the hot water), cars, clothes, and a lot of food.” He went on to say that having money is difficult for most people because if they have lots of money they have no more excuses.
It’s true isn’t it? If you had all the money in the world to do exactly what you want to do—you would have no more excuses not to do it. You would write the book, paint the picture, exercise every day to have the healthy body you want, hire the chef to cook your perfectly balanced meals, climb to the base camp of Mount Everest, scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef. What would stop you?
NOTHING.
So what is stopping you now from doing exactly what you want? Because it isn’t money—it isn’t a lack of anything. There is so much abundance all around us that we have no excuses not to live our lives fully, with passion and enthusiasm every day. There are too many people doing too many extraordinary and amazing things with very little money or resources to make money an excuse. There are too many opportunities and so much abundance here in America for lack to be the excuse.
The only thing between me and what I want to do is me! Me telling me either, “I CAN do it!” or, “I CAN’T do it!” So let’s make an invitation to ourselves and have A Bun Dance! Let’s wake up every morning and do a little jig around the bed and into the bathroom and sing in the shower. Because if you have a bed, a bathroom and a shower you are already way ahead of the game for most people on the planet—you are already living an abundant life!
Here’s an invitation for A - Bun - Dance…and don’t read ahead. Just do it as you go along.
1. Stand up and put both feet on the ground.
2. Raise your right hand as far up to the sky as it will go.
3. Jump up and sing and make an affirmation like this
‘I have ABUNDANCE. I have EVERYTHING I need, want and DESIRE. My life is working PERFECTLY. I LOVE my LIFE and EVERYTHING in it.’
4. Do this as many times as you like.
5. Rejoice in your ABUNDANCE!
6. Expect magical things to happen.

Author's Bio: 

Val Gee has published four books with McGraw-Hill, The Winner’s Attitude, Super Service, The Customer Service Toolkit and her latest, OPEN Question Selling. Before co-founding McNeil & Johnson with her husband, Val worked as a sales rep for Pitney Bowes, and gained top sales award in her first year. She began her writing career as a consultant and instructional designer developing and producing hundreds of employee training programs for companies such as Motorola, Hyatt Hotels, Siemens, Baxter Pharmaceutical and many more. Over the past ten years Val has been facilitating seminars based on her books to companies such as: Computer Associates, GE Financial, Pepsi, Xerox, Advocate Healthcare, McDonalds.

Val is a certified yoga instructor, member of the Authors Guild, ASTD, AMA and the British American Business Council. Before making the USA her permanent home in 1983, Val studied in the UK at Lords Commercial College, St. Aldates Business College Oxford and Bedford College. Married for over 37 years, with two daughters and two grandchildren, Val became an American citizen in 2005.