Rediscovering Joy in Our Relationship with Money
The Dance of Abundance and Enoughness
Rediscovering Joy in Our Relationship with Money
By Mackey McNeill, CPA, PFS
Introduction: A Tale of Two Gardens
Last summer, I stood in my garden marveling at my tomato plants. From just a handful of seedlings planted in spring, I was now surrounded by vines heavy with fruit – far more than I could possibly consume alone. As I gathered tomatoes for dinner, I found myself reflecting on a profound truth: abundance is the natural state of our world.
From a single tomato containing over 200 seeds, each capable of producing a plant yielding 10-15 pounds of fruit, nature demonstrates extravagant generosity. One tomato, given the right conditions, could theoretically produce tons of food within just a few growing seasons.
Yet in the same week, I read about families struggling to put food on their tables and witnessed shoppers arguing over discounted items at the grocery store. This juxtaposition highlighted a paradox at the heart of our modern experience: we live in a world of unprecedented material wealth, yet many of us experience a persistent sense of scarcity.
What explains this disconnect? How have we created such profound scarcity amid natural abundance? And more importantly, how might we rediscover the joy that comes from a healthier relationship with money, possessions, and the concept of "enough"?
This paper explores these questions through the lens of abundance and enoughness – two powerful concepts that, when properly understood, can transform our relationship with money and lead us toward greater joy, purpose, and contentment.
Abundance as Nature's Design
Nature operates according to principles of abundance rather than scarcity. Consider:
The Tomato Principle: A single tomato contains approximately 200-300 seeds. If each seed grows into a plant producing just 20 tomatoes, that's 4,000-6,000 tomatoes in just one generation. By the third generation, the potential yield becomes almost incalculable.
The Beaver's Legacy: Before European colonization, North America's beaver population numbered between 60-400 million. These industrious creatures engineered complex water management systems across the continent, creating rich wetland ecosystems that supported countless other species. Their dams regulated water flow, prevented flooding, created habitats, and purified water – all as a natural byproduct of their existence.
The Forest's Generosity: A healthy forest produces oxygen, purifies water, stabilizes soil, moderates climate, provides food and shelter for thousands of species, and offers countless resources – all simultaneously and sustainably when left in balance.
These examples reveal that natural systems, when functioning properly, don't operate from a mindset of limitation but from one of regenerative abundance. There is enough for all when the cycle of giving and receiving remains in balance.
Yet somewhere along our evolutionary and cultural journey, humans developed a different relationship with resources. We began to accumulate beyond our needs, to compete rather than cooperate, and to extract rather than reciprocate.
As one Native American presenter I once heard eloquently stated: "Native Peoples and Western Society do not share the same values. In Native culture, we believe there is enough. There is a point of enoughness, where you have enough, you leave the rest for future generations."
This concept of "enoughness" offers a powerful counterbalance to our culture's endless consumption – not as a limitation, but as a pathway to freedom.
Enoughness: The Forgotten Wisdom
Enoughness isn't about deprivation. It's about the profound liberation that comes from recognizing when you have what you need.
In Robin Wall Kimmerer's beautiful book "Braiding Sweetgrass," she shares the cautionary tale of the Windigo – a mythological figure from Anishinaabe traditions. The Windigo represents insatiable consumption, a being whose hunger only grows the more it consumes. The more it eats, the hungrier it becomes, in a terrible cycle of endless want.
Kimmerer writes that the Windigo "is a human whose selfishness has overpowered their self-control to the point where satisfaction is no longer possible." This legend was taught to native children to illustrate that greed had consequences – that if we become caught in endless desire, we become trapped in insatiable hunger when there is already enough.
This ancient wisdom speaks directly to our modern condition. Consider these stark realities:
Americans occupy the largest homes in the world (average new construction exceeds 2,300 square feet), yet we have more self-storage facilities than any other country – over 50,000 facilities covering nearly 2 billion square feet of storage space.
The average American household carries approximately $7,000 in credit card debt, while simultaneously storing unused items worth thousands of dollars.
In 2010, Nobel Prize-winning economist Dr. Daniel Kahneman and his colleague Dr. Angus Deaton published groundbreaking research showing that beyond approximately $75,000 annual income (equivalent to about $105,000 in 2025 dollars), additional money did not significantly increase day-to-day emotional well-being. Their study, analyzing responses from 450,000 Americans, revealed a profound truth: once our basic needs are met, more money doesn't necessarily create more happiness.
The wisdom of enoughness suggests that true prosperity isn't about endless accumulation but about cultivating a healthy relationship with what we already have. It's about recognizing the "sweet spot" where our genuine needs are met, and we can turn our attention from acquiring more to enjoying, sharing, and finding purpose in what's already present.
The Great Disconnection
What caused our separation from these natural principles of abundance and enoughness? Our disconnection from Earth – the very source of all abundance – has manifested in multiple ways.
Our modern economic systems, while creating unprecedented material wealth, have fundamentally altered our relationship with Earth and with each other. Three critical shifts have occurred:
1. From Relationship to Transaction
In traditional indigenous cultures, acquiring resources was embedded within a relationship with Earth. When you gathered food, built shelter, or used the gifts of the natural world, you did so with gratitude, reciprocity, and awareness of your place within a larger system.
Today, we've replaced relationship with transaction. We don't know who grew our food, where our water comes from, or who made our clothes. Money serves as an intermediary that disconnects us from the true source of our prosperity – Earth and human creativity within natural boundaries.
2. From Cycles to Linear Extraction
Natural systems operate in cycles: growth, maturity, decay, renewal. Nothing is wasted; everything is transformed. Traditional economies often mimicked these cycles, using resources in ways that allowed for regeneration.
Our current economic model operates primarily through linear extraction: take, make, use, dispose. We extract resources faster than they can be renewed, create products designed for obsolescence, and generate waste that cannot be reintegrated into natural systems.
3. From Enough to More
Traditional wisdom included the concept of "enough" – knowing when you had sufficient resources and choosing to leave the rest for others, including future generations.
Our current system is built on perpetual growth and the pursuit of more. Success is measured by continual expansion rather than sustainability or balance. We've created currency systems and financial markets that require constant growth, putting us at odds with the finite nature of our planet.
As Robin Wall Kimmerer notes, "The Windigo tricks us into believing that belongings will fill our hunger when it is belonging that we crave." This insight reveals how our disconnection from natural abundance has led not only to environmental consequences but to profound spiritual and emotional hunger as well.
The Hidden Costs of Ignoring Enoughness
Our cultural blindness to the concept of enoughness carries significant costs – to our planet, our communities, and our individual well-being.
Environmental Degradation
The math is simple but sobering: a planet with finite resources cannot sustain infinite consumption. Our disregard for natural limits has led to:
Climate disruption that threatens food security and community stability
Pollution that compromises the health of all living systems
Species extinction at 1,000 times the natural background rate
Depletion of resources that future generations will need
As ecologists have long warned, systems that outstrip their resource base inevitably face correction – often sudden and catastrophic. Are we creating the conditions for such a correction in our human systems?
Social Fragmentation
Our disconnection from enoughness also damages our social fabric:
Rising inequality as resources are concentrated rather than circulated
Competition replacing cooperation as our default mode of interaction
Erosion of community as we prioritize individual accumulation
Monetization of relationships that were once based on reciprocity
In indigenous food systems, as described by many native writers, the tribe managed food for everyone as a shared resource. Nothing was wasted because resources were understood as gifts that demanded respect. The relationship between the Plains tribes and the buffalo exemplifies this approach – they took what they needed for survival and left the rest, maintaining balance for future generations.
Personal Suffering
Perhaps most immediately felt are the personal costs of our disconnection:
Financial stress that compromises health and relationships
Time poverty as we work more to buy more
Decision fatigue from endless consumer choices
Diminished joy as we chase external validation through acquisition
As one client recently told me, "I have a beautiful home filled with things I carefully selected, yet I feel no peace there. Instead, I feel the weight of maintenance, insurance, cleaning, and the constant pressure to upgrade. Sometimes I wonder if my possessions own me rather than the other way around."
Reconnecting: The Path to Joyful Prosperity
How do we begin to heal our disconnection from Earth, the very source of all abundance? How do we rediscover the freedom that comes from embracing both abundance and enoughness?
The journey begins with awareness but must extend to action. Here are pathways toward reconnection:
Cultivate Conscious Choice Through Mindfulness
At the heart of our disconnection lies a fundamental challenge: we often react automatically based on internal beliefs and external triggers rather than choosing consciously in the present moment.
Our brains are wired to operate on autopilot, with 95% of our decisions made unconsciously. Breaking this pattern requires practices that bring us into present-moment awareness:
The 5-4-3-2-1 Technique: When faced with a purchasing decision, pause and notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This simple grounding exercise activates your prefrontal cortex and interrupts reactive patterns.
The Four-Count Breath: Before making financial decisions, take 4 seconds to inhale, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4-6 seconds, and pause for 4 seconds. Four full cycles of this breathing pattern can shift you from reactive to responsive.
The Heart-Centered Question: The heart has 60 times more electrical energy than the brain and 5,000 times more magnetic energy. True intention comes from your heart, not your head. I've used a simple mantra for years to access this wisdom: "Is this joy?" When considering a purchase or commitment, I ask myself this question, then feel into my heart for the answer.
Finding your own guiding question is powerful. Mine is "joy," but yours might be "peace," "freedom," "connection," or another value that resonates deeply. When you find your word, use it as a touchstone for all your decisions.
Redefine Prosperity
True prosperity extends far beyond financial metrics:
Wealth of time and attention
Richness of relationships
Freedom from financial worry
Alignment between values and actions
Contribution to something larger than yourself
At The Prosperity People, we guide clients to articulate their own prosperity intention – a statement that captures what true prosperity means to them. This becomes their North Star for financial decisions, ensuring that money serves their deepest values rather than the other way around.
Create Systems of Support
Changing deeply ingrained patterns requires support:
Find a community that shares your values around sufficiency and generosity
Work with financial advisors who understand prosperity beyond just numbers
Establish regular practices that reinforce your commitment to enoughness
Share your journey with others to create accountability and inspiration
Take Practical Steps
Reconnection happens through concrete actions:
Create spending plans that align with your true values
Build in regular "gratitude pauses" before new purchases
Practice generosity as an expression of abundance
Plant a garden (or just a tomato plant) and experience nature's abundance first hand
Invest in companies and systems that regenerate rather than deplete
Ask of each purchase: "Will this truly bring me joy or purpose?"
One of our clients recently shared, "When I stopped asking 'Can I afford this?' and started asking 'Does this bring me closer to the life I want to live?' everything changed. I spent less, enjoyed more, and finally felt freedom around money for the first time in my life."
The Power of Personal Choice: A Story of Reclamation
This year, my husband and I faced a meaningful choice. We'd had a good year or two in business and found ourselves with resources beyond our needs. We considered several options for these funds: a big trip, a new wedding ring (as when we married, we didn't have enough for a fancy ring), or additional charitable giving.
As we reflected, we realized something important. We don't just live at RedSunflower Farm – we're building an ecosystem of sustainability and regeneration. We're modeling what we hope the future will be – building community, growing and sharing food, and honoring our land.
When we moved here 18 years ago, we spent all our resources to buy the property and rehab the house. We were "house poor," reusing, recycling, and upcycling things as we could, buying only what we absolutely needed (like a used tractor) to extend our money. Over time, we built the infrastructure we needed, including a new barn a few years back to replace our old one which was falling in.
With the resources this year beyond our needs, we looked to our hearts – and we know our hearts are in this farm. So we decided to invest $30,000 in a lasting gift to this place: rehabilitating the 10 acres of forest closest to our house.
The native forests in our region have been destroyed by bush bush honeysuckle, an aggressive non-native species that chokes out native plants and disrupts the entire ecosystem. Despite our ongoing efforts, we weren't winning this battle. Now every time I walk through those forest paths, seeing the bush bush honeysuckle removed and the forest floor coming back to life, I feel a profound joy that no vacation could have provided.
This spring, we'll plant new understory – dogwoods, redbuds, and elderberries to restore the natural balance. This forest will outlive us, providing benefits to wildlife, water quality, and future generations long after we're gone.
This is the essence of enoughness – not deprivation, but the freedom to direct our resources toward what brings lasting joy and alignment with our deepest values.
Questions for Reflection
As you consider your own relationship with abundance and enoughness, I invite you to reflect on these questions:
How might the world be different if everyone operated from a principle of "enough"?
What latent talents and creativity might be liberated if there was less stress about money and more calmness about moving through life?
What is your own resistance to stopping accumulation cycles? What fears arise when you consider "enough"?
How do you teach children or grandchildren that they are Earth? That they cannot consume more than Earth can regenerate?
What gives you a sense of lasting joy that doesn't depend on acquiring more?
How much fear must we let go of to live in a world where everyone has enough?
How do we reconnect to the source of our being – Earth, mother nature?
Conclusion: Dancing with Abundance and Enoughness
Abundance and enoughness are not opposing forces but dance partners in a beautiful balance. Nature shows us that abundance is our birthright when we honor the principles that sustain it.
The path forward isn't about rejecting prosperity – it's about redefining it. It's about recognizing that true abundance comes not from endless accumulation but from circulation, regeneration, and the wisdom to know when we have enough.
In my work with clients at The Prosperity People, I've witnessed remarkable transformations when people reconnect with these principles. Financial stress dissolves. Relationships heal. Purpose clarifies. Joy returns.
We stand at a pivotal moment in human history – one that calls us to remember ancient wisdom while creating new systems that honor both abundance and enoughness. The future of our planet, our communities, and our personal well-being depends on our ability to strike this balance.
The dance of abundance and enoughness invites us to step into a new relationship with money – one where prosperity becomes not just possible but inevitable when we align our choices with the natural rhythms of giving and receiving, of growth and rest, of expansion and contraction.
Will you join the dance?
Mackey McNeill, CPA, PFS is the Founder at MACKEY and The Prosperity People, guiding clients to discover and create their own unique intersection of joy and money. Through her Prosper program, she helps individuals and businesses align their financial choices with their deepest values and intentions. Learn more at MackeyAdvisors.com and TheProsperityPeople.com.