The Abundant World

One of the most interesting motives for people and society has been a belief that resources are limited; what Stephen Covey has called a scarcity mentality (I read about it in the 8th Habit). However, I simply cannot accept this belief anymore (if I ever really did). I cannot help but come to the conclusion that there is an abundance of resources in our world and there is enough resources (whether natural or created) in our world (and solar system, and galaxy, and universe) to sustain all of us.

Another author, Thomas Freidman who wrote The World is Flat, also spoke about this abundance mentality. He proposes the belief that as long as people have ideas and can imagine possibilities, there is no limit to what we can have or do. Imagine what life was like simply one hundred years ago. The only way to "see" someone from another country (or even another town) was (1) look at a photograph or (2) go to the country (or town). Now, we can watch and listen to someone on the other side of the world in our own home. We can even interact (via video conferencing, web cams, etc.) with anyone who has access to the equipment. If you lived in the early 1900s, this type of communication wasn't even envisioned by most of the population, so how can WE (those living today) not see the abundance that surrounds us (why does a scarcity mentality continue)?

Another example that I just can help but see (but I must first refer you to the web video, "Did You Know?" that mentions that today, we have five times more words in the English language than in Shakespeare's time). Lately, I am amazed about how may people use the phrase, "Goggle it." We can create (and obviously do) new words every day! Our language is ABUNDANT.

One last observation of mine (which may be a LEAP of faith on my part) relates to job availability.  Always a concern is the number of jobs available for more and more people (this is the basic premise of the scarcity mentality...as population grows but resources stay the same, there is less "stuff" for everyone).  However, I propose that we can continue to create jobs that are not "extra" but extremely useful.  One example is On-Star, the security system for automobiles.  This service has to be manned by someone on the other line ready to help out those in need.  This service may not be a necessity, but it can possibly save lives (bad accident) as well as just save the day.  Another useful job is reviewers of college applicants.  As more and more individuals apply for college, it is becoming difficult to select quality students and it is so difficult to really know someone without taking the time to really review the information (and even do some follow up).  This is why some universities (sorry I don't have a reference right now) are hiring numerous reviewers to get a holistic view of its applicants, not a job for just anyone either.  Therefore, I do believe we can continue to have more and more (abundance) as we need it and as long as people have ideas they act on.