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The Allure of Scarcity

Isn’t it interesting how we can allow the game to play us, from time to time?

We’re conditioned through our environments, and our Western culture has a fairly negative bias. Struggle and violence are more heroic than ease, grace, and lightness. The fear of sickness, pain, and death are more acceptable than the joy of living, breathing, and experiencing the utter profundity of every waking moment.

Misinformation, disinformation, advertising, capitalism, and inane, polluted, mainstream media idiocy keep us running in circles, mentally and physically. Our spirits are given very little room to dance in their freedom.

In our careers, we strive and achieve, and it’s never enough. We keep chasing money, or merits, more useless stuff, or pieces of paper to frame — anything to give meaning to the pain, struggle, and quiet desperation we overcame, or to stave off brutal, honest reality checks, and soul-shaking existential crises.

In relationships, we embrace conditionality: we chase love, tolerate mediocrity, and try to fix each other . . . Or we adapt ourselves to superficially suit the needs of the coupling, or worse, remain on constant alert for “red flags” and other likely trivial concerns which inadvertently sabotages what may be a very, very good thing . . . Perhaps, because we unconsciously believe ourselves unworthy of happiness, fulfilment, or stability. We fear what may happen if we actually ask for what we need. We run to, and we run away.

As artists, we also have distorted ideas, invaded by capitalist notions. We’re disappointed with having only a few fans or supporters, wishing for a few hundred thousand — when in reality, but a few moved, inspired hearts and minds can influence hundreds of thousands . . . thus millions.

On the one hand, maybe we run through these occasional spiritual checks and balances, to gauge our trueness to our purpose, and to recalibrate our compass. Or, perhaps, these uglies and yuck pop-up to remind us there may be a few old programs still arguing underneath, and it’s time to sit for a while with whatever it is, to allow it one last sing-through, before we turn the page.

Scarcity thrives on lack: needing, wanting, searching, missing — primarily ideas that are both unnatural, and almost always, not our own. Abundance, is knowing, remembering, what is always there, beyond our imposed expectations and conditions.

In other words, there is no lack of abundance. But, there is belief in the abundance of lack. It’s all in how we choose to look at it, and we can change our reality in the blink of an eye.

Love your life,
tb