Vineyards are always such a symbol of abundance to me. I shared that with a friend the other day and he asked why. I couldn't really answer the question, so I decided to try and find some photographs that would illustrate the point. That is a Pinot Noir cluster at the top of the page. You can tell by how closely packed together the grapes are within the cluster. These photos were taken at Coeur de Terre Vineyard. Last year I was hanging out at the winery on my sabbatical. What a difference a year makes! First of all it is still sunny and warm in the Willamette Valley. Last year it was cold and rainy. At this point in September we were at least a month away from harvest. We may be a week or so away this year.
Another difference this year is the amount of fruit hanging in the vineyard. Last year to help get the fruit ripe they had to cut a lot of fruit down. This year there are two and three clusters hanging from each shoot. When you look at all of those clusters, and then look down the row at every vine you become impressed with the abundance of fruit. These mature vines received no water. They have roots that go as deep as thirty feet, and out of ground that looks dried and cracked they manage to produce this lovely, plump, sugar-filled fruit.
I have been hearing so much about scarcity lately. Everywhere you look people are shouting, "We don't have enough!" Yes we do. We live in an abundantly rich country. The concept that we don't have enough is a myth propagated as carefully as these grape vines by the dominate culture of our age. In her book,
The Soul of Money Lynne Twist takes on some of these myths. Here is a quote about scarcity from her book: "Scarcity is a lie. Independent of any actual amount of resources, it is an unexamined and false system of assumptions, opinions, and beliefs from which we view the world as a place where we are in constant danger of having our needs unmet.”
If you live in the Willamette Valley you have almost constant visual clues that this myth is not true. There is such abundance here, and almost anything will grow if given half a chance. I see the harm this idea of scarcity is causing to our society. It is such a spiritually freeing practice to stop all of our inner dialogue about not having enough, and open ourselves the gift of abundance that surrounds us. We have been deeply blessed with so much. Now don't get me wrong, I am gifted at turning my every whim into a need. I have to fight this desire for more, accept that I have much more than enough, and actively look for ways that I can bless other people. That is a blessed life.
