By Lucas Anderson
A few days ago I was pouring some loose leaf tea into one of my favorite handmade mugs. I felt this unction in my spirit to continue pouring until the tea seeped up from beneath the strainer and overflowed the brim of my vessel. I held the tilted kettle steady wondering about the wisdom of this notion as my mug volume maxed out. An abundance of tea spilled over the sides and streamed from my clay-made cup onto the counter. The steamy mist of fragrant liquid continued its Niagara like fall down the oven door and began puddling into a small pond fit for a few minnows on our tile floor. It really happened just like that. I’m so glad no one was watching. As I wrung out a wet rag and knelt to clean it up, revelation began to rise from the bottom of my clay-made soul up to the brim of my brain until it spilled out into words on my lips.
“Everyone wants abundance and overflow, but unless we have another vessel to pour the increase into we’ll just have a mess to clean up.”
I stayed on my knees considering the weight of all my own wants and wishes for more. I contemplated the promise that when I give, I am given back a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and what? Running over. I thought about how many times the increase has come and I found myself with a mess on my hands or scrambling to grab another cup to catch the extra. And, I gave thanks for all the times I’m sure Love has wisely and patiently held back the blessings so I wouldn’t drown in the downpour over and over again.
If I take a moment to learn from those I admire who have lived or do live lives of increasing abundance, I see a common theme. They all took action to surround themselves with people and position themselves in circumstances
beyond their abilities before their cup began to overflow. They recognized that cups are never just full. I am either being poured into, or out of, and if there is nowhere for the extra to go, then eventually my cup will run dry because I will remain distracted cleaning up my selfish mess. Most of the time I perceive these heroic characters of mine to be different than me, carrying some type of born confidence and genetic generosity. The truth is, these overflow exchanges are motivated by a modest paradigm: knowing there is more, and discerning I don’t know it all, or have it all, and the only way to enjoy it all with as few messes as possible is to receive and reciprocate with the world around me. Here’s to humble overflow. :)
