We live in a world obsessed with having more. More money, more time, more security. But recently, a profound realization struck me about the trick our minds play on us when it comes to abundance and scarcity.
It turns out that the value of everything we hold — from a 1,000-yen bill to the very years left in our lives — stretches and shrinks depending on whether we look at the world through the eyes of the “have-mores” or the “have-lessers.”
The Elasticity of “Only” vs. “Already”
Consider how the exact same reality transforms based entirely on our circumstances:
- Distance: For someone with a car, 10 kilometers is “only 10 kilometers” — a quick drive. For someone with no choice but to walk, it is “already 10 kilometers” — a grueling journey.
- Time: For a 65-year-old looking at the future, do they have “only 20 years left” or “already 20 more years to live”?
- Money: To a wealthy person, a 200-yen difference between two cuts of meat is negligible. They don’t mind spending 700 yen. To someone living on a tight budget, that 200 yen is a significant percentage of their daily bread.
There is a striking pattern here: Those who possess much often focus on what is missing, trapping themselves in the mindset of “only.” Meanwhile, those who possess little are frequently the ones capable of discovering the profound gratitude of “already.”
We see this even in how we consume things we love. If you buy your favorite treat by the dozen, the joy fades; it becomes ordinary. But if you buy them one by one, each single item becomes a rare, delicious event. Restraint, it seems, is the secret seasoning that gives life its flavor.
The Paradox of the Four Gospels
This psychological truth beautifully illuminates one of history’s most famous theological debates: the existence of the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the Christian New Testament.
When people without religious faith look at these texts, they often ask critically: “Why are there as many as four different books? Why couldn’t they just agree on one definitive story? There must be contradictions.”
Paradoxically, devout believers often look at the same texts and say: “Why are there only four books? How could a mere four accounts ever be enough to capture the infinite greatness of Jesus?”
But if we step outside of religious dogma and look coldly at history, a spectacular third perspective emerges.
In the early centuries of the Christian era, there were dozens of writings, including various apocrypha and competing narratives. More importantly, these texts had to survive centuries of brutal Roman persecution, systematic book-burnings, and the fragile process of being hand-copied onto papyrus over generations.
When you realize the sheer historical violence and astronomical odds stacked against these documents, you realize that the fact that four accounts survived intact is an absolute miracle.
Ironically, the believers who hold these texts so dear have become so accustomed to their presence that they view them with a sense of scarcity (“only four”). It takes a detached, objective eye to look at history and weep with gratitude that there are “four whole books” left to read.
“Blessed Are the Poor”
This brings a radical new clarity to the famous words of Jesus: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
This ancient wisdom isn’t a call to passive resignation or a romanticization of hardship. Rather, it is a profound psychological truth. When you have nothing, your “baseline” resets to zero. When you expect nothing, every small thing that comes your way — a single 1,000-yen note, a solitary piece of chocolate, or a hard-won piece of history — is received as an overwhelming gift.
To live in the mindset of “already” is perhaps the greatest wealth of all, one that no amount of money can buy.
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