Scarcity is our biggest fear. It strikes right at the heart of need to feel safe and, consciously or unconsciously, we are always engaged with this fundamental assumption.
But consider this... scarcity is a delusion. This wasn't always true, of course. At one time we humans were completely dependent on the natural environment and sometimes there really wasn't enough and we paid the ultimate price. In fact, this was the fact for so much of human history, and the history of our non-human progenitors, going all the way back to the one celled critters. So it should come as no surprise that this assumption is still very much alive within us. None the less, we have so evolved as tool makers (a.k.a. technology) that we now have the ability to guarantee food, shelter, education and healthcare to every man, woman and child on the planet. And to do so without endangering anything else.. So why don't we? Well, that is the nature of delusions. They are believed and lived out to such extent that they appear to actually be true. And this is what we suffer from. This assumption of scarcity and lack runs so deep and is so embedded in our psyche that we measure each other's value based on how much they have. The rich have only been regarded highly since the era of agriculture. Prior to that the desire for more than you needed was regarded as an illness... and rightly so. Once property became a thing, the wealthy began to hold an elite status. They had, after all, overcome scarcity. Yet, all the psychological studies about the effect of wealth have found exactly the opposite. The more you have, the less secure you feel. We seem to get desperate to attain it and then even more desperate to keep it. Why is this? There are two reasons:
The fear of scarcity is still embedded in the nervous system and so you can never really feel secure, no matter how much you have and
The attaining of wealth no longer merely means you are more likely to survive, it is also the designation of your status in the culture. So now it is not just your body's need, it is the need of your ego.
Is there a solution? Yep, there most certainly is. Firstly, we must become conscious that this force is within us and begin to reconcile with it. Consciousness brings power, light and healing to everything it comes in contact with. Secondly, we need rediscover the power of community, the deeper meaning of Tribe and the role of men within the larger community.
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