An Abundance of Energy

When you think about energy, what comes to mind first? 

In your mind’s eye, do you see solar panels and wind turbines, or hydroelectric dams and giant nuclear reactors? Or you might be thinking more on the molecular level, like protons and electrons. The reality is that, no matter how we picture it, energy is everywhere. 

In this day and age, we think of energy mostly in terms of electrification (or at least I do)—i.e. outlets, chargers, batteries, wires, etc.—but energy takes many forms. We may not typically think of gasoline as an energy source, but it is actually a highly efficient way of storing and transporting energy potential. 

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that gasoline-powered vehicles have proliferated so much over the past century, and why switching to electric vehicles seems to happen so slowly.  

As science and technology improves and knowledge is leveraged, our ability to generate, store and transport pure, clean energy increases exponentially. Think about how much power you have in your handheld device today compared to 10 years ago. It is true that there are problematic by-products to these technologies, but no energy generation or storage system is without problems.

We know from science class that plants use energy from the sun to grow. So how about the human body? Did you know you have the inherent ability to convert, store and burn energy? If you’re a nutritionist or fitness coach I’m sure you’re acutely aware of this, but most of us don’t think of our bodies as energy producers. What’s amazing is, all of that energy is renewable. 

You might talk about taking a nap to “recharge” without even thinking about it. We buy “energy” drinks to give us a boost, without really realizing how they work, but you can only generate so much energy in a day by metabolizing nutrients. (Not to mention, there are serious health risks if you give yourself too much of a boost over too short a time.)

We use energy to get work done, play sports, do chores, etc. Without energy, nothing get’s done. But energy is not just about getting things done. It’s also about flow and connections. (Think: electric grid.) We need the infrastructure to transport energy just as much as we need the devices that generate it. And we need more and more of it every day.

The good news is, energy is in abundant supply. Just the energy from the sun hitting the earth is so many of orders of magnitude greater than what we can actually utilize with our current technology that we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of its potential. Wind, geo-thermal and other types of natural energy are also in abundant supply, even if more difficult to capture. Nuclear power is much more complicated, but is still a potentially viable and abundant source of energy.

If you are over 50, you may recall an idea (well, a prediction really) introduced back in the mid 1950s, called Peak Oil. It’s the idea that if we continued burning through the country’s ability to produce petroleum products at the then-current rate, the supply would eventually dry up. But even before that happened it would begin to taper off while the demand continued to go up. 

As you can guess, it was not a happy scenario. The doomsday-sayers predicted that eventually it would have grave impacts on our economy and industries such as agriculture, resulting in widespread famine and breakdowns of civility and societal order. 

It was not an outlandish prediction at the time to believe all of this would begin to come to pass by the year 2000. But alas, it never did. The peak of the “Peak Oil” prediction keeps getting pushed back, largely due to technological discoveries and changes in supply and demand and world markets.

Bottom line is, humans are pretty good at adapting.

These days, climate change is more of a concern than Peak Oil—due, at least in part, to our insatiable appetite for more fossil fuels. We still haven’t figured out how to turn the spigot off, but we’re working on it. And, in spite of the very real-world consequences, we will no doubt suffer, learn, adapt and repeat—as we have for centuries. 

No matter what happens, you can bet that we will always find bigger, better ways to produce the energy we need to keep the lights on. That, in turn, allows us to be more productive. 

But, as we all know, productivity (i.e. work) isn't everything. 

How does the saying go?… “All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy.” (Or something like that.) The truth of this adage lies in its simplicity. The simple truth is that there must be balance.

Nature gives us clues as to how we should live our own lives in balance. In order to be sustainable and renewable, we must be responsible with our own energy and use it for good, healthy purposes. That way there will be enough for us to “play” with.

We can stray from the center somewhat, but we can only push the boundaries so far before we start to face disastrous consequences. 

As we have all witnessed, when we ignore those clues and overuse our planet's and our body's energy sources, our natural resources start to diminish and nature starts to push back. When we do this on a broader scale, our planet and environment and general wellbeing suffer. 

Our physical and metaphysical bodies are microcosms of the grander scale of energy displayed in the universe. The deeper scientists look, the more they discover just how complex and incredible our biological systems (i.e. biomes) really are, and how many layers there are. Perhaps that is why in today's world there is so much speculation and conversation around the subject. 

As we dig deeper into the sub-atomic, or quantum levels, we begin to understand the relationship between matter and energy even more. 

While there is still much that we do not know, what we DO know is that there is no matter without energy. In fact, we now know that there is more space between molecules than there is solid material, and that matter is much less solid than it appears. And the more we explore, the more we understand that what we intuitively know to be true: 

Matter doesn't really matter as much as we think it does. (Makes you think twice about obsessing about material wealth, doesn’t it?)

Think about it... Concepts such as prayer and "mind over matter" are not just nice thoughts and ideas. They are reality. But just as with anything, we can neglect, misuse and abuse them.

Energy abundance is not just about electrons or what we might call "productive" energy. It is about what makes everything what it is, and how it regenerates without our even having to do anything. 

With all this in mind, it is important to remember that abundance cannot coexist with greed. 

Living in abundance is never an excuse to live a life of wonton excess. How do we know when we cross that line into excess? Simple... When the me supersedes the we. In other words, when the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many, life starts to take a turn toward the unsustainable. And that is the opposite of abundance. 

In all things there is a delicate balance to be maintained. As with anything in life, whether it be balancing time (e.g. work vs. life), relationships (e.g. self vs. family/friends/community), understanding (head knowledge vs. experience), or energy (e.g. convenience vs. health), maintaining that balance is an active and ongoing process. 

The good news is, as long as we continue to seek that balance, no matter how hard it is or how many barriers we face, we will continue to be supplied with the energy to maintain it. That is the promise of regeneration and the very essence of TRUE Abundance. 

Will you join us in actively seeking the balance that produces TRUE abundance?