On Plenty, On Satisfaction, On Much, Much More

On Plenty; Or, Why a lot of a little is a little and a little of a lot is a lot; Or, a thought on parables

Phil Laut was a new age author that I had the pleasure of meeting in 1984 just after he had published his first book, “Money is my Friend.” In the beginning of this book, Phil examines the nature of “satisfaction.” In real life it is clear that some folks cannot be satisfied by the amount of money they have. Their life is a constant quest followed by the feeling of being disappointed. The question is whether the feeling or the fact comes first? According to Phil Laut, the sense of having plenty comes before the plenty itself, and also the sense of scarcity always comes before the scarcity itself. The feeling comes before the fact. Anyway, this was a pretty striking thought for me back in 1984. Being a man of action. Who would have thought that feeling had anything to do with it. Anyway.

Phil Laut's whole discussion makes me think back on the parable of the loaves and fishes. The verse goes that the crowd was fed and was “ satisfied. ‘ Now was it that the loaves and fishes were so much multiplied, or was it that in the state of peace their anxiety was reduced and hunger was taken away? From the story, one cannot say for sure. Was the multiplication of the loaves and fishes all about the feeling or the fact ? The reason I point this out is that the parables tell a story to make a point. Might the point have been lost? Lost right in the midst of doing the math.

Along with the concept of plenty, is the concept of what a “ little” is. And what a “lot” is. We often see people that want to dominate every transaction but in their enthusiasm to get every dime, make sure they fail.. The effort to dominate does not result in huge success. Thus comes the saying, "a lot of a little is a little."

On the other hand, there is the rule that “ a little of a lot is a lot.” A good example of this is the computer programmer that comes up with a novel idea of how to handle text that can be used worldwide. However, it is just a part of a larger program, a fact he recognizes. In working for the larger program success, his element gets worldwide sales and he becomes rich.

The key thing that makes this happen is an attitude of allowing others to participate in a large idea and just keep a little for oneself. The attitude comes before the reality. Feeling before fact.

I still do really like those action movies. This all does make me wonder about those loaves and fishes though.