Learning from our own class bigotry

By Chris Trout | July 6, 2008

(a continuing series of blogs on the nature of abundance.)

Class bigotry. That's what I call it when I discount someone's wisdom or experience because they come from an environment, history or attitude I perceive as being privileged. Even though "rich" folks have problems, I just know those problems must feel different when you can afford to hire a therapist, get a massage, buy a hot fudge sunday, call a relative who will invest in your business, whatever. 

Yet it is this same feeling that can be so instructive to all of us. It does feel different to know that abundance is available to you - that's the point! The Universe is an abundant place for all of us, whether we have learned to perceive it or not. We've all seen that poor, inner city kid who seems to kn0w this to their core. They carry a confidence and faith in their future that belies the evidence to the contrary.  The key to our abundance, and the key to helping challenged and challenging youth connect to their infinite possibilities, is to connect with this feeling. Connecting with our unique and enduring strengths does this. Having the opportunity to experience ourselves as competent and energized does this. And sometimes, imagining this feeling and acting "as if" allows us to finally see the abundance that, in fact, surrounds us.  

So when you see those privileged people taking risks, starting businesses, serving on nonprofit boards, acting as if anything is possible, resist being a class bigot and pay attention. They don't worry about money because money has always been there. The same is true for all of us: We needn't worry about abundance because it has always been there.