August: Abundance

Learning about how the months got their names I’ve found that July was named after Julius Caesar and August was named after Augustus Caesar, who defeated Antony and Cleopatra.  But that’s about all I could find out about August.  So, I’m making the rest up in a way that makes perfect sense to me, and may have some meaning for you too.

In the US and many other countries, August is the month of abundance.  Gardens are bursting at their seams: there are more fruits and vegetables available locally than at any other time of year, and prices are usually at their lowest because of this profusion.  It’s a foodie’s paradise and a way, if you’re so inclined, to put food by (canning, pickling, drying) for the leaner months ahead.

But what else can August teach us about abundance?  We all live with the ongoing white noise of overt and covert lessons learned from our families of origin about abundance and scarcity. Just under the radar, we’re often meditating, ruminating, cogitating, and holding internal conversations with ourselves about what we do or don’t “deserve,” what is and isn’t possible - conversations that inform our underlying beliefs about how the world works and our place in it.

August, a natural time of abundance, might become a time we designate to check in with ourselves about our ongoing internal scarcity and abundance conversations (just as New Year’s often serves as a time to examine our goals, and our birthdays may be times to examine our hopes and dreams). 

Perhaps August can help us think about questions like

·      What do we believe we deserve?

·      What are we capable of doing/being?

·      What’s holding us back from taking risks, moving forward?

·      How can we start removing those barriers?

·      What are our limiting beliefs?

·      And how can we challenge them?

·      How can we change our stories - from rut stories, to river stories?

·      What tools, techniques and strategies do we have (or can we acquire) to become more positive, pro-active? (Check out Positive Psychology for what they call “interventions”: ideas like gratitude journals and picking a regular day of the week to do 3 nice things for other people. These techniques and strategies have been shown to help increase optimism, productivity and a general sense of well-being.)

·      If we were really to accept the premise/promise that there are already enough resources for everyone (food, water, money, etc.), who would we become … and what would we have to do?

Interesting coaching questions, if I do say so myself!