Scarcity is a pervasive condition of human existence. Everyday circumstances of limited resources (money and time) can make individuals experience a sense of scarcity. Their scarcity functions like an obstacle to goal pursuit, which intensifies the value of goal.
Scarcity prioritizes our choices and it can make us more effective. The time pressure of a deadline focuses our attention on using what we have most effectively. Distractions are less tempting. When we have little time left, we try to get more out of every moment. For example, we are more frugal with the toothpaste as the tube starts to run empty, and college seniors tend to get the most out of their time before graduation.
Scarcity makes everything more desirable. We will enjoy our lunch more for being deprived of breakfast—literally, hunger is the best sauce. Sometimes people want things precisely because they cannot have them: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Playing hard to get is a most effective strategy for attracting a partner, especially in the context of long-term love, in which a person wishes to be sure of their partner’s commitment. A “hard to get” player likes to appear busy, create intrigue, and keep their suitors guessing.
Scarcity also contributes to an interesting and a meaningful life. A life without limits would lose the beauty of its moments and become boring. Abundant time destroys the urgency for anything and need for quick action. Research shows that reminding individuals of the reality of death increases the value of life. Death represents life’s scarcity, which may influence subsequent efforts to protect the threatening aspects of death.
Midlife often heightens the feeling that there is not enough time left in life to waste. We overcome the illusion that we can be anything, do anything, and experience everything. We restructure our lives around the needs that are essential. This means that we accept that there will be many things we won’t do in our lives. Overcoming a midlife crisis requires accepting that life is finite (Strenger, 2011).
Like scarcity, impermanence refers to the concept of limitation. There is a beauty in impermanence. Knowing that a moment won’t last allows us to cherish it more fully. In fact, beauty is heightened by the very fact that it cannot last. Cherry blossoms, mist, rain, snow, autumn leaves, and other fleeting materials or phenomena especially signify aging and transience.
Impermanence is core to Japanese culture (Juniper, 2003). The concept of wabi-sabi, central to Japanese aesthetics, embraces the transient and imperfect nature of life, emphasizing simplicity, humility and the beauty found in natural flaws and impermanence. In this context, the concept of impermanence highlights the transient nature of all things. When many Japanese speak of beauty, they link it directly to the transience of all things: An object that lasts forever has far less aesthetic appeal than something fragile and short-lived.
This worldview frames impermanence not as a limitation but as a source of aesthetic. It offers a framework in which change is not feared but embraced, allowing impermanence to inspire wonder, reflection and a deeper connection to life’s fleeting moments. Impermanence, in that sense, makes it possible for beauty to exist.
References
Juniper, A. (2003). Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence - Understanding the Zen Philosophy of Beauty in Simplicity. Tuttle Publishing
Strenger, C. (2011). The Fear of Insignificance Searching for Meaning in the Twenty-First Century. Palgrave Macmillan