Making-Do

Do you believe that you live with abundance? Or do you live in ‘lack?’

I recently finished a book that talked about money blocks and abundance consciousness, but this really concerns more than just our finances. One of the concepts that jumped out at me was looking at how we ‘make-do’ or ‘put up with’ something.

I had to raise my hand and say ‘guilty!’ But I hadn’t looked at it as a block or a problem - it was simply what I did. And I don’t think that it’s always a problem - until we realize how it shows up in other ways in our life.

I’ve long been on the reduce, reuse, recycle bandwagon and I think that’s a good thing; it helps me do my part in helping out our dear mother earth. But come on….. sometimes there comes a point where perhaps the ‘making-do’ has gone on long enough.

It made me stop and look at how this shows up in my life. It can be the little things that we’re just so darned used to that we don’t even think about them. So here we go with a bit of confession time….

We received a griddle as a wedding present in 1977. The coating was a bit marked - but not too badly - from the houseful of teenage boys that we used to have staying with us most weekends when they were in high school. Did I mention that they now all have their own babies, toddlers and young children?

A leg was broken and I had my husband re-glue it countless times - to my thinking it still worked fine otherwise. As he was using it to make breakfast on Christmas Day, the leg broke again. I finally realized its life with us was over. It was time to throw it out. Shock registered on his face as I said this. He would have done it years ago.

I shared this story with a friend. She realized she’d been doing the same thing with a baking pan she had to re-clean every time she used it because it would rust. It was now a habit. She ordered a new pan.

Does any of this resonate with you?

This can apply to so many areas in our life. Think about it. From relationships to work to our homes to food to the way we’re treated.

Those Facebook memories keep showing me things too. Have I really had the shirt I wore yesterday for 11 years? It’s comfy and I still like it! So there’s also a perceived value that can come into play here. And that can vary from person to person. The item that one person will pay $100 for, isn’t necessarily worth $1.00 to someone else.

During pandemic lockdowns a local bakery come up with the brilliant idea to start doing deliveries. They make awesome bagels and shortbread cookies. So every week we do our part to help a local business and place an order. Do the bagels and cookies cost more than the ones we get from the grocery store? Absolutely, but to us they’re worth it.

I’m not writing this to say to start throwing things out or buy something that costs more. But rather look at how this may impact other things in your life. Where is it coming from?

I can see exactly where mine started in childhood and I can see other things I do that are offshoots of thinking with a ‘lack’ mentality.

Another confession… and I also know where this originated. If I’m having that bagel for lunch and have a choice of two plates, I’ll always take the smallest one. It’s wasteful to use the one that’s too big or too much. Heaven help me, I’m pretty sure I’ve even said that to my daughter.

What?? Really??? It’s a plate! It takes the same amount of work to wash the small plate as the bigger one. So where else am I making choices in my life that are keeping me small? I’m now consciously not letting the size dictate my plate selection!

You can let things go when they need to be let go. What are you holding onto that no longer serves you? Does some of your thinking have a ‘past due’ date that needs to be discarded?

The other day as I was contemplating how I was going to write about this, I happened to look down in the shower and there was that ‘seen better days’ scrubby/loofah that I use. More evidence of making-do! Out it came and in went the new one that my granddaughter gave me for Christmas.

Did I throw it out? Almost. But then I thought it would still be good for scrubbing duty so it’s now with our cleaning supplies. My reduce, recycle, reuse heart is still ruling sometimes.

As I always teach, take one baby step, then another, then another, then another. 

I'll see you on the path. 

Namaste, Glenda