Plum Overloaded a.k.a. 'What To Do With Abundance'

From my friend Aleece Laird in Kamloops.  Posted with permission.

The plums on our tree this year have been ridiculous! I've never seen such abundance and it's amazing. What do you do with abundance though - do you embrace it or do you complain about it?

Our plum tree has made me think over the past few months, ever since I first saw the blossoms on it, I knew we were in for a record setting plum season. So here's how I think our plum abundance ties in with life and the best reactions:

1. Focus on the good - too many times, people look at work and an abundance of things to do as a curse. Like the plums, it's easy to get overwhelmed and think "what on earth am I going to do with this?" I say, focus on the positive and the abundance - it's a really good thing. There have been times with limited plums and that's kind of a bummer - I'd rather abundance over no abundance.

2. Make a plan - how many times have we looked at our calendars or life and thought thoughts of defeat before the situation even happened. "I can't do this" or "I'm not capable" are thoughts so many of us have. I find if we make a plan, we can do so much better with situations presented to us. So when the overwhelming comes, we've got at least a strategy for the future (my financial planner guy should read this - he'd pat me on the back for listening... finally)

3. Enlist help - our 12 year old made about $4.00 in the course of 30 minutes last night as his responsibility was to pick up the mushy plums (earning a penny each) that had fallen already and were better suited for the compost (or our dog we found out and put a stop to that). People are generally happy to help when you express that you can't do it all on your own. Give them the opportunity to show their skills and ingenuity.

4. Share the wealth - we did the big plum cull last night. Prior to that, I was the ultimate Plum Pusher. Friends, co-workers, etc... if I knew you, likely I asked how many lbs I could deliver to your house. (for the record, our team at work has never been more regular). We had major plum abundance and this morning, I took them to the New Life Mission to share with some of our community members who were so grateful. So sharing in the abundance was not only a joy for me, but was a real blessing to countless others.

So embrace the abundance and keep a positive attitude. I'll keep you posted after I deal with the Apricot Abundance which is already upon me!