It is no secret that human beings determine value through limitation. Advertisers have utilized the principle for decades, luring consumers with “limited supplies” and “limited time offers.”
Economists live by this principle as well. The law of supply and demand means as much to the investor as the law of gravity does to the rocket scientist. We all experienced it this spring, when suddenly people were standing in line to pay double or triple for a few rolls of toilet paper.
We value that which is in limited supply. Or, rather, we value that which we recognize to be in limited supply. It can be confusing.
Time, for example, may be our most precious commodity. But it is abstract. We can’t put it in our pocket or deposit it into our bank account. We only acknowledge it as a commodity when it runs short.
When I was a boy, my dad told me that nothing is more valuable than time because it is limited and also (most importantly) because it is non-renewable. Bob Dylan, in one of his more playful songs, once sang, “Odds and ends, odds and ends. Lost time is not found again.” Dad and Dylan are right, of course. We all know this intuitively. But out here in the real world, we live as though we have forgotten.
Reminders come occasionally, and usually, they are carried on a tide of great loss.
Even as I write this, my wife is probably saying goodbye to her mother for the last time. She drove to northeastern Oklahoma two weeks ago because her 91-year-old mom is dying. When she got the call from her older sister that prompted the trip, it did not matter to my wife that she had seen her just months before, or that her mom might not even recognize her when she arrived.
She decided to drop everything and go because she knew that her mother’s time on this earth was running out. More to the point, the time she had left to spend with her mom – to say what she wanted to say and share what she wanted to share – was nearly gone.
Limitation teaches us what is valuable. The first cookie out of the bag is good, but we don’t savor it the way we savor the last one. As a child, I habitually lavished long stretches of summer days doing next to nothing, only to cram the final week leading up to school with as many trips to the mall and to the beach as I could.
There is a paradox in all of this, though.
We value what is limited: Money, time, even toilet paper. However, is this principle exclusively true, or just a trick of perspective and faulty measurement?
The principle of scarcity teaches us to chase after and safeguard that which we perceive to be limited – at least the tangible commodities. For intangible commodities like time, we can only lament their loss.
However, isn’t it true that the genuinely valuable things in life are both infinite and unlimited? Love, compassion, empathy, kindness, faithfulness, forgiveness. There are no limits to any of these. They are renewable. They are self-sustaining and even self-perpetuating. Loving people today actually makes it easier to love them tomorrow. And if that love is reciprocated, the capacity to love grows exponentially on both sides of the exchange. Show people kindness and empathy and more often than not your kindness and empathy are reflected, even multiplied.
If any limits are attached to these virtues, they are self-imposed; removing them is always a choice.
We are powerless to control the limitation placed on the commodities we universally value. All the planning and hoarding … all the scheming and saving are busywork we give ourselves as a paper shield against fear.
All the while, in the choice to exercise our most noble virtues, we hold within us a never-ending, exponentially multiplying trove of treasure. It is limitless in both volume and in its potential for good in this world.
To unleash this treasure, we need only to teach ourselves to think differently about what is valuable and why.
Diamonds are valuable because they are rare. Oxygen, on the other hand, is everywhere.
If you could only have one, which would you choose?
Augustville 
Hi! I found this piece through tiktok and I just want to say how beautifully written it is and a great reminder for us all to spread love and all these genuinely valuable things because that’s really what’s life’s about, at least in my opinion. Thank you for sharing this. I enjoyed it!
Thank you, Pearl, for your kind words! -Bob
Same here! Found it through the tiktok account “@dishrag.” It truly changed my perspective on a lot of things in my life. What a gifted writer you are, please never stop. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for reading and for sharing your thoughts, Sebby!
Hi Bob! This is absolutely lovely, thank you for this.
You’re welcome and thank you for reading
I also found this through tiktok, but I am so glad I stumbled upon it. It is a beautiful piece that filled my eyes with tears and my heart with warmth. I could feel your genuine compassion through yours words and that requires an unbelievable talent. This piece moved me so much I have printed it out and hung it in my room to remind me of the good in the world!
Natasha, that’s so nice of you to say — thank you. And yes, there is good in this world and we can be people who spread it!
this is beautiful thank you for this
Thank YOU
Hey Bob, I am an amateur editor and filmmaker and I was wondering if I could read a couple of excerpts from your writing over a short video I was working on. I would give you credit for the writing of course, but if you aren’t comfortable with it I understand. I appreciate good writing and I am glad to have stumbled upon this. Thank you
Hello Tyler. Thanks for the ask. Can you give me a general sense of what the vid will be about?
The video is going to be a collage of old memories in honor of my late friend Justin. I felt like doing a voiceover for the video itself would fit in well.
Of course. Please use it how you want. I’m sorry to hear about your friend. 😦
I’ve had a lot of time to reflect and your writing had really encapsulated the realizations I’ve had to go through. Thanks once again
Please send me a link to your video when you finish it! Love and prayers to you.
Hi Bob! I also found this through tiktok and I am so happy that I did. This is beautifully written thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
This is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your talent.
Thank you for reading!
Love it. Thanks for the inspiring words. So uplifting and needed!
this piece so wonderfully written and those last two lines are killer! thank you for sharing 🙂
is*
Thank you, Yara. Your encouragement is MUCH appreciated!
every once in a while, i stumble back onto this website just to read this. it’s easily the most beautiful writing piece i have ever read. if you ever wrote a book on this specific topic, i’d be the first in line to purchase it. thank you so much for this
Thank you so much, Estrella. I appreciate the encouragement! I definitely need to post more often … and I will 🙂
-Bob
This is such a great piece ♡ thank you.
Thank you, Irene. 🙂