The Universe Keeps Showing Up. We Keep Turning It Away.
Are we unknowingly rejecting the very abundance we spend our lives searching for?
By Gerald Crawford | Abundance
Every single day, life shows up for us.
It arrives with possibilities, opportunities, experiences, connections and moments that have the potential to change how we feel, how we think and how we experience the world around us.
Sometimes it arrives through a person who offers us love. Sometimes through an unexpected opportunity, a conversation, a moment of kindness or an experience that reminds us that we are not alone.
Sometimes it arrives in the simplest of ways: the warmth of the sun on our faces, a beautiful morning, a quiet moment of peace or the gift of another day to live.
What if we began looking at life differently?
What if, instead of believing that we constantly have to chase abundance, we started asking ourselves whether we are actually willing to receive what life is already offering us?
Because there is a painful contradiction in the way many of us live.
We spend our lives asking for things that, when they finally arrive, we sometimes do everything in our power to push away.
We Ask for Love, Then We Reject It
Think about love for a moment.
How many people spend their lives longing to be loved, understood, accepted and appreciated? How many wish for someone who will see them for who they truly are, someone with whom they can feel safe enough to be vulnerable?
Yet, when love arrives, something interesting can happen.
We become afraid.
We question the other person’s intentions. We look for signs that they might hurt us. We compare them to people who disappointed us in the past. We build walls around our hearts and convince ourselves that we are protecting ourselves.
Sometimes we push people away before they have even had the opportunity to get close.
Sometimes we reject a compliment because we do not believe it. We dismiss someone’s kindness because we suspect they want something in return. We struggle to accept affection because, somewhere inside us, we have come to believe that we are not worthy of receiving it.
And sometimes, without ever saying the words, our behaviour communicates a very clear message:
Go away. Leave me alone. I don’t want what you are offering.
Yet, when the loneliness returns, we ask ourselves why we are not experiencing the love we so desperately want.
Can you see the contradiction?
We want love, but we are frightened of receiving it.
We want connection, but we keep our distance.
We want to be understood, but we hide the parts of ourselves that most need understanding.
We want to be accepted, but we struggle to accept ourselves.
Perhaps the problem is not always that love is absent. Sometimes, it is that our fear makes it difficult for us to recognise, trust or receive the love that is available to us.
Life Keeps Knocking on Our Door
Imagine that every morning, the universe arrives at your door carrying a gift.
You do not know exactly what the gift will be. It might be an opportunity, an experience, a relationship, a lesson or a moment of unexpected happiness.
It does not necessarily arrive in the form you expected. It might not look impressive. It might not come with a guarantee that everything will work out.
But there is something in that moment that invites you to participate in life.
Now imagine opening the door, looking at the gift and immediately finding a reason to reject it.
You are too busy.
You are too afraid.
You do not trust it.
You do not think you deserve it.
You are still angry about what happened yesterday.
You are too worried about what might happen tomorrow.
Or perhaps you simply do not recognise the gift because you were expecting something entirely different.
So you close the door.
Then, later, you sit in your home and wonder why nothing good ever seems to happen to you.
This is the emotional contradiction at the heart of abundance.
We can become so focused on what we believe is missing from our lives that we overlook what is already present. We can become so attached to our expectations that we fail to recognise opportunities that arrive in unexpected forms.
We can become so protective of ourselves that we shut out experiences that might bring us joy.
Of course, not every opportunity is right for us, and not every person who approaches us has good intentions. We need boundaries, discernment and the wisdom to recognise what is healthy.
But there is a difference between consciously choosing not to accept something that is wrong for us and automatically rejecting something because we are afraid.
The question is whether we are making conscious choices or simply allowing our fears to make them for us.
Sometimes, We Are More Comfortable with What We Know Than with What We Want
One of the most difficult things to understand about human behaviour is that we can become attached to circumstances that make us unhappy.
We can become accustomed to loneliness.
We can become comfortable with disappointment.
We can become so familiar with struggle that peace feels unfamiliar.
We can spend years believing that we are not good enough, not attractive enough, not successful enough or not worthy enough, until those beliefs become part of the way we see ourselves.
Then something good happens.
Someone appreciates us. An opportunity presents itself. We are offered a chance to do something we have always wanted to do.
Instead of feeling excited, we feel uncomfortable.
We question whether we can do it. We wonder whether we deserve it. We imagine all the things that could go wrong.
And sometimes we retreat to what we know.
Not because what we know is good for us, but because it is familiar.
Receiving abundance can require us to change the way we see ourselves. It can ask us to challenge beliefs we have carried for years. It can require us to take responsibility, become vulnerable and step into circumstances we cannot fully control.
Sometimes, the very thing we have been asking for requires us to become someone who is willing to receive it.
That is not always easy.
But it is worth asking ourselves whether the life we have become accustomed to is the life we truly want to continue living.
We Reject Ourselves Before Life Gets the Chance
Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to experiencing abundance is the way we treat ourselves.
We tell ourselves that we are not good enough.
We remind ourselves of our mistakes.
We carry the weight of past decisions and allow them to define who we believe we are today.
We compare ourselves to others and measure our worth against what they have achieved, what they own, who loves them and how successful they appear to be.
And in doing so, we create an internal environment in which receiving becomes difficult.
How do you accept love when you believe you are unlovable?
How do you accept a compliment when you believe it cannot possibly be true?
How do you embrace an opportunity when you are convinced that you will fail?
How do you experience the richness of the present moment when your attention is constantly fixed on everything you believe is wrong with your life?
The beliefs we hold about ourselves influence the choices we make, the opportunities we pursue, the relationships we allow into our lives and the way we respond when something good happens.
This does not mean that our thoughts control everything that happens to us. Life is more complicated than that. We all face circumstances beyond our control.
But we can learn to recognise when our own beliefs are preventing us from participating fully in the opportunities that are available to us.
Perhaps abundance begins, in part, with learning to stop rejecting ourselves.
Perhaps it begins when we acknowledge that our past does not have to determine every future decision, that our mistakes do not erase our worth and that we do not need to be perfect before we allow ourselves to experience something good.
Abundance Is Not Just About Money
When people hear the word abundance, many immediately think of money, financial success, possessions and material wealth.
But abundance is so much bigger than that.
There is an abundance of love, friendship, kindness, knowledge, creativity, time, opportunity, connection and meaningful experiences.
There is the abundance of being able to give someone your undivided attention.
There is the abundance of having a person in your life who listens when you need to speak.
There is the abundance of learning something that changes your perspective.
There is the abundance of waking up with the freedom to make a different choice today.
And there is the abundance of recognising that a meaningful life is not measured only by how much we accumulate, but also by how deeply we experience what we have.
Consider time.
We often tell ourselves that we will enjoy life when things settle down. We will spend more time with the people we love when work becomes less demanding. We will take care of ourselves when we have fewer responsibilities. We will appreciate the present when the future becomes more comfortable.
But time is passing while we wait.
The opportunity to be present with someone we love exists today. The opportunity to appreciate a moment exists today. The opportunity to make a different decision exists today.
If we continually postpone our experience of life until everything is perfect, we risk overlooking the abundance that is available in the life we are living right now.
This is where perspective becomes so important.
Two people can experience similar circumstances and interpret them very differently. One may see only what is missing, while the other recognises what remains possible.
Their circumstances are not necessarily identical, and gratitude does not erase genuine hardship. But perspective can influence what we notice, what we value and how we choose to respond.
Abundance is not pretending that we have everything.
It is learning to recognise what is valuable, making the most of what is available and remaining open to what may still be possible.
The Universe Does Not Have to Shout
There is a spiritual idea that I find deeply meaningful: the possibility that the universe continually offers us opportunities to experience love, growth, connection and life itself.
You may understand this through your relationship with God. You may see it as the generosity of nature, the kindness of other people or the endless possibilities that emerge through being alive.
Whatever language you use, the invitation is much the same.
Pay attention.
Life does not always arrive with dramatic announcements. Sometimes, the most meaningful experiences begin quietly.
A person asks how you are, and genuinely waits for your answer.
Someone offers to help you when you are struggling.
An opportunity appears that you had never considered.
A difficult conversation allows you to understand someone differently.
A moment of stillness gives you the chance to hear what you have been avoiding within yourself.
These moments can be easy to overlook when we are distracted, preoccupied or convinced that something bigger must happen before we can be happy.
But what if we became more attentive to the life unfolding around us?
What if we stopped assuming that the next great thing must be somewhere else?
What if we began recognising the value of what is already here, without giving up our dreams of what might still come?
Perhaps we would discover that abundance is not always something we need to chase. Sometimes, it is something we need to notice, nurture and allow ourselves to experience.
Learning to Receive
Receiving is an act of participation.
It means being willing to accept a compliment without immediately dismissing it.
It means allowing someone to help you without believing that you must do everything alone.
It means being open to love without demanding absolute certainty about the future.
It means recognising an opportunity and being willing to take a responsible risk.
It means allowing yourself to experience happiness without constantly searching for the next problem.
And sometimes, it means accepting that you deserve kindness even when you are still working through your mistakes.
Receiving does not mean accepting everything that comes your way. It does not mean abandoning your values, ignoring warning signs or allowing others to take advantage of you.
It means becoming aware of the difference between a genuine boundary and a wall built out of fear.
It means asking yourself whether you are saying no because something is genuinely wrong for you or because saying yes would require you to step beyond what feels familiar.
It means being willing to pause before dismissing what life places in front of you.
And perhaps, most importantly, it means understanding that you do not have to earn your right to experience every good thing through endless struggle.
You can work towards a better life while appreciating the life you have.
You can acknowledge your pain while remaining open to joy.
You can protect your heart without closing it completely.
You can recognise your limitations without convincing yourself that you are incapable of growing.
This is not about forcing positivity upon yourself. It is about creating enough space within yourself to recognise and receive what is genuinely good.
What Are You Turning Away Today?
Perhaps the most useful question we can ask ourselves is not, “Why don’t I have more abundance?”
Perhaps the question is:
“What am I doing with the abundance that is already available to me?”
Am I giving my attention to the people I love, or am I allowing distraction to take it away?
Am I willing to receive affection, or do I keep people at a distance because I am afraid of being hurt?
Am I recognising opportunities, or am I dismissing them before I have properly considered them?
Am I allowing myself to enjoy the present, or am I postponing happiness until some imagined future?
Am I open to learning, changing and growing, or am I holding on to beliefs that no longer serve me?
Am I treating myself with the same kindness I readily offer to others?
These are not questions designed to make us feel guilty. They are questions designed to make us aware.
We cannot control everything that arrives in our lives. We cannot guarantee that every relationship will work, that every opportunity will succeed or that every day will bring happiness.
But we can become more conscious of how we respond.
We can learn to recognise what is worth welcoming.
We can learn to stop dismissing ourselves.
We can learn to receive love without expecting it to repair every wound we have ever experienced.
And we can learn to appreciate the richness of life without needing every circumstance to be perfect.
Tomorrow, Life Will Show Up Again
Imagine waking up tomorrow morning with a different perspective.
Instead of immediately focusing on what is missing, you begin by noticing what is present.
You recognise the opportunity to make a different choice.
You allow yourself to appreciate someone who cares about you.
You accept a compliment without arguing against it.
You listen when someone offers a different perspective.
You take one small step towards something that matters to you.
You give yourself permission to enjoy a moment without feeling that you must first solve every problem in your life.
Nothing about this requires you to pretend that life is easy. It simply asks you to participate in the life that is available to you.
Perhaps the universe will bring you something unexpected tomorrow. Perhaps a new opportunity will appear. Perhaps someone will offer you kindness. Perhaps you will discover something valuable in an ordinary moment.
Or perhaps the opportunity will be much quieter: the chance to stop repeating an old pattern, to forgive yourself for a mistake, to tell someone you love them or to recognise that you have been harder on yourself than you need to be.
Whatever tomorrow brings, you will have an opportunity to respond.
You can automatically reject what is unfamiliar.
You can allow fear to make your decisions.
You can continue believing that abundance belongs somewhere else, to someone else, at some other time.
Or you can pause, look at what is in front of you and ask whether there is something here worth receiving.
Life will continue to present possibilities, although it will not always give us what we want or when we want it.
We cannot demand that the universe fulfil every expectation. But we can learn to meet life with greater awareness, gratitude, courage and openness.
And that may change far more than we realise.
The Door Is Yours to Open
Perhaps abundance is not simply about how much we have.
Perhaps it is also about how we experience what we have, how we respond to what becomes available to us and whether we allow ourselves to participate in the good that life can offer.
We spend so much time searching for more that we sometimes fail to appreciate what is already here.
We ask for love, then protect ourselves from it.
We ask for happiness, then postpone it.
We ask for opportunities, then convince ourselves that we are not ready.
We ask to be seen, then hide.
And when life does not look the way we imagined it would, we wonder why we are not experiencing abundance.
Perhaps it is time to look at the relationship we have with receiving.
Not everything that arrives is a gift. Not everything we desire is good for us. Not every closed door is a mistake. Sometimes, abundance means having the wisdom to walk away.
But when something genuinely good comes into our lives, we can learn to recognise it, appreciate it and allow ourselves to experience it.
We can stop treating every opportunity as a threat, every expression of love as a reason for suspicion and every moment of happiness as something that must soon be taken away.
We can learn to live with our hearts open and our eyes awake.
And perhaps the greatest change will begin when we stop asking only what life can give us and start asking how we can participate more fully in what life offers.
Tomorrow morning, life will show up again.
It may arrive through a person, an opportunity, a conversation, a challenge or a moment of unexpected beauty.
When it does, pause.
Look.
Listen.
And before you turn away, ask yourself one simple question:
“Am I rejecting this because it is not right for me, or because I am afraid to receive it?”
Because sometimes, the first step towards experiencing greater abundance is not learning how to get more.
It is learning how to recognise, welcome and responsibly receive what is already good.
The universe keeps showing up. The question is whether we are willing to open the door.
Gerald Crawford is an author, educator, healer and guide whose work explores self-awareness, personal responsibility, healing and the choices that shape our lives.
Explore more reflections on abundance, perspective and living a meaningful life at GeraldCrawford.co.za.
