Scarcity: The beauty of pleasure

                                                   

As I walked down Cele street, something dawned on me, as many things do on my lonesome walks. This time, however, it wasn't just a random walk; I had set out to buy some roasted corn. You might wonder why I felt the need to mention that. It's because it was through this trip to the corn seller's that I arrived at the epiphany which I'm about to discuss. 

What I realized was this: the beauty of pleasure is scarcity. I guess you could say that this is just a fancy alternative for "absence makes the heart grow fonder". 

As I ate my corn, which by the way was "today own", I thought about how much I cherish corn, agbalumo, mangoes and seasonal pleasures alike. Then I considered what would happen if these 'pleasures' weren't seasonal. If every time I wanted a corn or an agbalumo I could have some. My response to that thought was "nah, I wouldn't want that". 

I think that the beauty of most things we enjoy or crave is in fact, in the ability to crave them. You enjoy things more when you've been starved or deprived of it for a while. We don't see all our loved ones and friends everyday so we can appreciate them more when we do see them; I appreciate corn because I don't get to have it everyday. Everyday routines can get boring, no matter how passionate you are about doing that thing. We appreciate things more when we don't get them frequently. We cherish and respect them more. 

Also, you realize that no matter how much you love something, there's a limit to how much of it you can handle or the body can take at a go. As much as I love agbalumo, I can't consume more than a certain amount in one day. For a big music fan like me, no matter how hooked on a song I am at a certain point, if I listen to it everyday for one week, I will start to get tired of it. I'd need to give it a rest for another month or so, before I can truly appreciate the song the same way I did the very first time I heard it. 

There are two points to this rant of mine; the first is that some things are better appreciated because they are seasonal, scarce, rare; and the second is that life's non-seasonal pleasures, like say...eating everyday, for example, are best enjoyed in moderation. I guess it's why even the world's greatest glutton must "belle-full" after a certain number of plates of food.

PS: It's a town, not a village! :P

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