Restore to me this year the locusts have eaten! We throw our hands up in the air – Christmas is coming! Could it be true that yet another year has disappeared into the gnashing jaws of time?
Well, actually, yes. But, if you focus on lack-of-time, then that is what you’ll get more of. Christy Whitman says that we live either in lack or in abundance and here’s how to know which one dominates: If you’re feeling awful, you’re in a lack mindset; if you’re feeling good, you’re focusing on abundance.

Christy explains it as follows: Think of a goal you are working towards and then say, out loud, ‘I want . . .’ and fill in the blank. For example, ‘I want more money’. Repeat this a few times and notice how you feel. Not very good, right?

The act of wanting something intensifies our experience of not having it. We trigger a feeling of unhappiness and discontent because we feel that we’re incomplete. So, if you dwell on what you don’t have, you’ll stay miserable. If you appreciate what you do have, you’ll experience such enough-ness that you’ll even want to share with others.

In this vein, Nick Ortner tells a story about a blind boy. It was the day before Christmas. The boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign in his hand, which read, ‘I am blind, please help’. There were very few coins in the hat.

Then a man came up to the boy, took his sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

And, low and behold, the boy heard more clinking of coins in his hat. Later that day the boy heard familiar footsteps coming closer and someone sitting down. He asked, “Are you the man who changed my sign this morning? Please tell me what you wrote.”

The man replied, “I said what you said but in a different way.” I wrote, ‘Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it’.”

The first sign simply said that the boy was blind, while the second sign helped everyone walking by to realise how wonderful it is to be able to see.

Everything is about perspective. Changing your perspective will change your life. If you’re resistant to sharing your coins or even your time or love with others, you’re probably in a space of not-enough-ness. And you can’t draw in abundance from a place of lack.

Then how would you change gears so that you can move into a state of enough-ness? You start by focusing on gratitude. Gratitude is a habit, says Nick. It’s a way of looking at the world with a feeling of appreciation. It is a heart-centred approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have. When you practice this feeling, it attracts even more things into your life for which to be grateful.

The secret to getting is having, says Christy. By declaring what you want, not as an expression of longing but as an assertion that it is already a part of your experience, you activate the feeling of abundance within you. The more you are able to maintain this feeling, the more you will naturally appreciate the many ways in which you already are abundant.

And you are, girlfriend! Just think of the green of new leaves in spring, the smell of jasmine, your first cup of coffee, the wag of a dog’s tail, early morning dew drops on a rose, slowly sinking into a hot tub . . . The focus is on the feeling.

So, how do you put it into practice this time of year? Think of something you want for Christmas. Did I hear you say you want a million Rand? Nothing wrong with that. But, if you focus on the wanting of it, you’re not going to feel very good.

Ask yourself why you want it. What is the emotion you think you’ll feel when you have it? Security? Freedom? Is there any thought you can think right now that will give you that feeling of security or freedom?

Then go think it, girlfriend, because – to paraphrase Roy L Smith – she who has Christmas in her heart, never needs to find it under a tree.