What We Hold and Lose

Humans often show an innate disregard for what comes easily. Where prohibition looms, desire intensifies.

The allure of the forbidden frequently outweighs the charm of the accessible. As a result, easily obtained things tend to lose their perceived value.

Economic theory echoes this tendency: the law of supply and demand suggests that value is preserved only when supply remains lower than demand. When abundance floods availability, interest fades. Accessibility, paradoxically, breeds neglect.

Love, too, can suffer this fate. What rests gently in our palms may slip away unnoticed, only to be mourned later. While not universal, many experience this as an inevitable curse. Familiarity veils affection, and that veil confuses us repeatedly.

Humans seem to struggle to love with full vulnerability. The brain, in its quiet fight for survival, instinctively shields us, quickly dispatching perceived threats to hidden chambers of the mind.

Perhaps this is why we forget even our deepest sorrows. Maybe we simply wrap pain in protective illusions to keep moving forward, for only by risking the loss of what we hold can we truly appreciate its worth.