See the Abundance: Count YOUR Blessings Instead of Being Jealous of Hers

On our farm, we have 7 chickens. Learning to care for them has been an adventure and a joy. They provide us with eggs and give our kids an opportunity to learn to care for animals.

A few days ago, I went out to the coop with a colander full of lettuce. I had three or four small heads – perfect for a nice treat on a warm summer day. After dumping the lettuce, I stood outside the chicken run to watch them eat.

I noticed something and it got me thinking.

Several of the chickens went and snatched up lettuce leaves right away and ran to a corner of the coop to enjoy them. A few of the other chickens simply continued to chase these chickens, eager to get the single piece of lettuce they were eating. Despite there being three entire untouched heads of lettuce on the ground, these birds just had to go after the single pieces being enjoyed by another bird.

We always want what someone else has.

We get so busy chasing the little bit that someone else is enjoying that we don’t see what is right there for the taking in front of us! There was an ABUNDANCE of lettuce to be had for my chickens – but they couldn’t see it. They were so focused on what everyone else had, that they failed to see what was available for them.

How often are we the same way? How much time do we spend chasing the blessings of others? How many opportunities go unnoticed because of our unhealthy focus on other people? What are we missing out on in our pursuit of someone else’s life?

If you find yourself constantly trying to “keep up” with someone else, or always have your eye on what someone else has, I challenge you to stop and look around you. What blessings are you missing out on? Is there something in your own life that has gone unnoticed as you waste your time and energy on wanting what someone else has?

We can so easily become focused on what other people are doing, achieving, attaining, buying, experiencing, etc that we lose sight of what’s in front of us – the blessings that WE have.

Can you see the “lettuce” in front of you? Don’t spend so much time worrying about what someone else is doing or what their life looks like. She may travel more. She may make more money. She might look better in her skinny jeans. You can focus on everyone else’s blessings or you can recognize your own. (You can even do both!)

See the blessings. See the abundance waiting for you.