Unlimited

[Behind the Pursuit - II]

We only have so many waking hours.
We can only answer so many calls.
We have limitations.

Our company can only handle so many orders.
Our non-profit can only help so many people.
Our work has limitations, too.

This is true in every facet of life.
Except for the internet—our online lives.

The internet doesn’t sleep. It can give the impression that we don’t sleep either.

That order can still be placed.
That email can still be received.
That information can always be accessed.
That video always watched.

The internet has not limitations. 5 people can watch that video. Or 500 million. And we want 500 million, of course. We pursue 500 million. We pursue unlimited. Which, of course, is unattainable.

But is unlimited what we want? What’s better: an occasional, fresh avocado or a refrigerator of unlimited amounts of pre-packaged guacamole? I’m not sure unlimited is what we’re after.

What's behind the pursuit of unlimited is a way of reckoning with the anxiety of our finitude, our limitations. (Isn’t that one reason we’re online so much?) We can try to avoid, ignore, or remove limitations or we can admit we don’t know what to do with that one avocado, and ask.

Limitations are a gift. They give meaning and add value.