Is Gardening a Form of Scarcity Thinking?

As a bit of background, I like to think of myself as an abundant thinker. I dream big. I have big goals. I'm optimistic. I look at challenges or obstacles as opportunities for creative thinking. When I don't reach my goals, I look back over my plan to figure out where I need to be better. I usually see the big picture and then figure out how to turn that into reality. I also believe in the law of attraction - what I focus my energies on and what I think about, I bring about.

I also really enjoy gardening. Now this is fairly new for me. Two years ago, the summer Little Merry Sunshine was born, I decided to dig in the dirt for the first time. That summer I planted a bunch of flowers and 3 tomato plants. Last summer, I increased my vegetable plants to include 3 different varieties of tomatoes, garlic chives, banana peppers, and basil. Both summers, I was blessed with an abundance of vegetables and I shared my good fortune with friends.

This summer, I have 3 different types of tomatoes, garlic chives, basil, 2 different types of peppers, strawberries, peas, carrots, catnip, green beans, corn, and spinach planned all from seeds. They've all been started indoors, but I have yet to get them into the ground. I had wanted to get them in the ground over Mother's Day weekend, but the weather was miserable and I was sick. This past weekend, I worked all weekend.

Now you're caught up. . .

This morning, I had a conversation with a friend of mine and it moved into that I was a little frustrated that I didn't have my garden in the ground yet. This wouldn't be a problem, except that I want to achieve the maximum yield from my vegetables and the longer it takes me to get them in the ground, the longer it will be until I can harvest them and the smaller the harvest. I really love having fresh vegetables for a large portion of the summer and then making sauces with them in the fall. I also want to learn how to can this year. Additionally, the more I have, the more I can share with friends and give to the local food pantry during their Giving Garden summer program. Of course, growing my own vegetables saves me a good chunk of money, which is certainly a huge benefit.

At this point, my friend says to me, "Why do you grow your own vegetables? That's scarcity thinking! While you're focused on working in your garden to save money, you're not thinking abundantly. Focusing on pinching pennies is scarcity thinking."

I explained to my friend that I find working in my garden peaceful and relaxing. I love knowing how the food I eat has been fertilized and with what chemicals (or not). Tomatoes that have been flown in from South America two months ago just don't taste the same as the ones I pick from my garden two minutes before I eat them like apples. Gardening is great exercise. Nothing is a better example of faith and belief than seeing fruits, vegetables, and flowers develop from little seeds. I'm helping the environment and reducing my carbon footprint because my food doesn't need to be flown or trucked in from who-knows-where. I share my good fortune with others, which spreads abundance. And, yes, I save money. It is estimated that a $70 investment in a garden can save $600 annually. I don't save that much money because I don't spend $70 on my garden and my garden isn't very big. I do know that saving money on groceries allows me to do other things.

My friend still wasn't convinced that gardening was really about thinking abundantly and still tried to tell me that by spending my time growing my vegetables I was preventing abundance from coming into my life.

In the end, we agreed to disagree. But the conversation has stayed with me all day. What do you think? Do you think that planting and growing my own vegetables is a form of scarcity thinking?