The Theory of Abundance

I suppose it is very easy for me to write this in front of everyone, being American and all. I happen to have been born into a free country, at the point of the greatest economic output and value in the history of mankind. I happen to have moved to an area of the world (greater Atlanta) to which PBS recently referred as “the fastest-growing civilization in the history of mankind.” I happen to be employed by a university, which is growing in size and stature at a rate unprecedented by any public institution ever. I have particular affiliations with a particular school within that university and an associated private athletic entity which are experiencing similar growth.

It is natural for me to believe that there are no bounds.

I think human beings often handcuff themselves by perceiving finiteness. I realize that there is a great deal of suffering in the world. This opinion is not about that suffering, but it is duly acknowledged, and more solemnly mourned.

I believe that most people think in terms of a defined beginning and end to resources, and that we discount the human and temporal elements of existence. I think we write the human off as unable to create and develop new ideas. I guess this is what creates my fiscal conservatism, as I believe that not removing financial value from the private sector improves the possibility of its being invested in elements of initially lower value to create goods or services of greater value. I might be wrong, but I hope I’m not.

Anyway, what I do know is that we perceive a beginning and end to ideas. We put boundaries on possibilities because we choose to see the world through the biggest scope we know, which often isn’t big enough to know the truth. Here are some notable examples (all of which are plagiarized from That Book by Mitchell Symons © 2004, Harper Collins):

• “No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris.” – Orville Wright

• “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” – Harry Warner (of Warner Brothers, 1927)

• “The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” – A Yale University professor’s comment on Fred Smith’s paper proposing an overnight delivery service, which would later become FedEx.

• “My imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew.” – H.G. Wells

• “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” – Charles H. Duell (Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899)

In writing, I frequently believe that the best thing that I have or can write is the thing that I have just written. I am trying to change that. I want, and am trying, to believe that the best thing I can write is the next thing that I write. If I prove myself wrong, then I don’t suppose it is a ridiculous proposition to try again? If I continue trying and continue failing, presumably I will eventually be dead, and won’t know the difference.

In my relationships, I often assume the last great friendship that I had, or the one to which I currently aspire, to be the greatest possible. I would prefer to believe that the greatest friendship I can have will be the one I have with you tomorrow… or perhaps, the one I will eventually have with the person I meet tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that. Dunno.

I’m tired of beginnings and endings. I would choose to recognize them only in terms of movies, books, meals, pieces of floss, my rope, Waffle House coffee (wait… scratch that), Abbey Road, and life itself. Until then, I think I am going to look into not being so confining about things. I just don’t see the point…

…sole exception being this entry.