Where there is abundance abounding, it is there for the taking, there will be a price, but you can have it.
I bought too many orange peppers today because I wanted them, they were the size of small pumpkins and they were available in abundance. I am in a position to accumulate too many peppers because I am willing to work more than I should while maintaining optimal health. I work too hard because around me there are so many things to want. The corollary of want is availability. If gigantic perfect orange peppers were not available, there would be no point wanting them and I would be spending less time and energy seeking the means to obtain them
Where there is no abundance, you can want certain things until the cows come home and the cost of your longing is zero because there are none of those things to be had.
I have sailed to many a place in which there is no abundance. In those places live people whose needs are simple. Dominicans do not want for things that are simply not available. There are no supermarkets, big-box retailers, or five-dollar double shot espressos. The pace is slow and their lives are long. The water is pure and the air is clear. There is a peacefulness that is palpable and strange to those of us for whom abundance is the norm.
Supply and demand makes price. Price is not dollars; it is the sacrifices we make to garner the resources necessary to fulfill our wants emanating from abundant availability. In the land of milk and honey and streets paved in gold, there is a hidden cost to abundance. I may have clogged my arteries sitting in front of the computer screen all day, but damn if those roasted stuffed orange peppers weren’t freaking delicious.
Julianne Frank
