The Elasticity of Life

Time is elastic, money is elastic. Life overall is elastic. What is this elasticity I'm referring to? When you want to get multiple things done in one day but you wake up late and have a commitment early in the evening, you might think, "I don't have time to go to the market, to that shop and this shop, have coffee here, then lunch over there." So, you might choose to cancel all these in-between plans. But if you go for it, you’ll surprise yourself by still managing to do all those things, despite getting up late and without missing your evening commitment.

With money, you have expenses, bills, wants, and needs, and you think, "If I don’t make a certain amount through work, freelancing, or otherwise, I won’t be able to afford these things." Yet somehow, despite not making that money, you still manage to afford them. Or stranger still, money comes from elsewhere to fill the gap. It's as if life is trying to tell us to stop limiting existence and to stop fixating on the “how” but instead to focus on the outcome—on what we want to do and have.

Once, I needed a new Mac but couldn’t afford one. I got stuck on this desire for a new Mac, and a few weeks later, a friend called, asking if I had wheels for his road bike. I had some high-quality wheels I couldn’t use, and he said he didn’t have money but could trade me a new MacBook Pro he didn’t like. And voilà, I got a nearly new Mac through an effortless barter. My point isn’t to promote bartering. People who obsess over bartering culture don’t align with my attitude at all. My point is to stop framing life based on limitations. We need to focus on what we want, make an effort, but avoid unnecessary struggle. If you’re stressing, you’re missing the point.

We often think, "One more hour will get me a bit more money, one more of this, one more of that." But sometimes, it’s better to just jump in and start, knowing that even if you float a bit, you’ll still reach the other side. In fact, that "floating" might reveal other goals or sources of income you've overlooked.

This comes down to something challenging—especially in 2024, when spirituality isn't in vogue—but it requires trusting the universe to take care of you. Going full-force in desperation or sitting idle with coffee all day isn’t the answer. When I was 17 and frustrated about meeting the right girls, my friend Nikos from Greece told me, “Trust in God but move your hands!” Meaning, know what you want, but put in a bit of effort. This concept is often misunderstood, especially by high achievers. You only need to make a small, consistent effort.

The real issue is that we’re complex beings addicted to stress and drama, making us inefficient. When we let go of this addiction, life can be like a calm sailboat on a sunny autumn lake. But it's a choice we must make. Most won’t make this choice, and they’ll never have enough time, money, or anything. It's the illusion of scarcity that society has ingrained in us, yet we live in a world of abundance.