Embracing Scarcity

Why winter and sound money create a sound life

Scarcity and Abundance

We typically associate a negative connotation with the word scarcity. It’s often linked to anxiety, tension, and conflict. When resources are limited, stress and uncertainty rise. Scarcity becomes something to avoid at all costs.

In contrast, abundance is treated as the goal. More food. More money. More time. More options. That instinct makes sense. When food or water becomes scarce, people suffer. When a society lacks basic resources, coordination of economic activity and civilization building falters.

But scarcity is not solely something to view as bad. In some cases, it is the signal that keeps systems functioning as they should.

Winter as a Living Example of Scarcity

This has been on my mind as we move through winter.

Mid-January in Pennsylvania. We are past the winter solstice, and the days are slowly getting longer, yet daylight remains scarce. The sun rises after 7 a.m. and sets around 5 p.m. Most of the day exists in darkness.

Like many people who live in colder climates, I’ve never really liked winter. Summer has always been my favorite season. Early sunrises, late sunsets, and everything in between. More energy. More activity. The warmth of the sun. Long days on the beach. I don’t think I’m in the minority on this one.

January and February have never been months I looked forward to. Once Christmas and New Year’s are over, it usually becomes a race to get to spring as quickly as possible. These months tend to drag on.

But this winter, I’ve tried to approach it differently.

Rather than resisting the slowness of the season and fighting the darkness, wishing it away and living at odds with nature, I’ve tried to embrace it.

Darkness, Sleep, and Repair

Right now, daylight is scarce. Darkness is abundant. Your body is responding accordingly. I know mine is. You’ve probably felt it yourself. It’s 7 p.m. and you’re exhausted. Your body winds down much earlier than it does in summer. That doesn’t mean something is wrong. It means your body is doing exactly what it’s designed to do.

Darkness signals melatonin release from the brain to the body. Melatonin is the body’s darkness hormone. As it rises, the nervous system slows, the mind quiets, and the body shifts toward repair. Your body prepares for sleep, and during sleep, recovery improves. The additional hours of darkness in winter act as a signal that this is a season for deeper rest and repair.

This year, I’ve been listening to that signal. I get into bed around 8:30p.m. most nights. Full disclosure, I also have a baby who goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 p.m., so it’s in my best interest to get to bed early too.

I wear blue light blockers after sunset, especially if I’m still working, which is most days. By 7:30 or 8p.m., I’m tired. By 9 p.m., I’m usually asleep. I wake up most mornings around 4 or 5 a.m. feeling decently well rested, or as well rested as you can be with a baby.

This time around, rather than fighting the constraint of winter, I’ve accepted it. Less light. Shorter days. A slower schedule. This is how the season is designed, and living in alignment with it is better for both the body and the mind.

Modern Life Has No Room for Winter

Modern life has little respect for nature and its cycles. Most people rarely consider this at all. Schedules and obligations remain nearly identical throughout the year. Watching TV late into the night. Leaving lights on in the house or office late into the evening. Eating meals at the same times regardless of season. Productivity is expected to remain constant.

There is very little room for winter in modern schedules.

The result is low energy, compounding exhaustion, and a subtle sense of misalignment. Darkness becomes something we ignore rather than embrace. Honoring the scarcity of light in winter is one of the simplest ways to live in alignment with the season.

Money as an Environment

Money, like light, shapes behavior more than we tend to realize. Most people don’t think about the monetary environment, yet they live inside its constraints every day.

In the current U.S. dollar system, money is abundant. The supply of new dollars is constantly increasing through coordination between the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government.

At face value, abundant money sounds appealing. More money for the rest of us, right? In practice, it means the value of the dollar declines and wealth concentrates toward the top. Most people have felt this directly, especially over the past six years.

New money does not enter the economy evenly. It flows first to those institutions and people closest to its creation. This process is often described by the Cantillon Effect, which explains how early recipients of newly created money benefit before prices adjust, while everyone else absorbs the higher cost of living later.

As this money works its way through the system, prices rise. This dynamic extends into nearly every area of life. Food. Housing. Utilities. Insurance. Have these goods suddenly become more valuable, or has the dollar become less valuable?

In a functioning market, rising prices reflect limited supply or increased demand. Today, they more often reflect money creation instead.

Rising prices reshape behavior more than most realize. Saving feels futile, and holding cash erodes purchasing power. Time horizons compress, consumption is pulled forward, and speculation becomes the standard.

One visible expression of this mindset is the rapid growth of prediction markets and sports gambling. Their rising popularity reflects a broader shift toward short-term payoff, risk-seeking behavior, and the financialization of everyday life, conditions that thrive when saving and long-term planning feel increasingly unrewarded.

Monetary Scarcity as Signal, Not Constraint

Prices, like light, are a signal.

It tells individuals and societies when to consume, when to save, when to invest, and when to wait. When that signal is clear, coordination happens naturally and efficiently. When it’s distorted, market signals begin to break down.

When prices stop communicating real information, rising costs no longer distinguish between genuine scarcity, which can often be addressed through increased supply, and monetary dilution. Decision-making becomes harder, and long-term planning fades.

Scarce money restores clarity and price signals. When money is scarce, prices regain meaning, inflation slows, and saving becomes viable again. Delayed gratification is rewarded rather than punished, and economic activity reorganizes around longer time horizons.

This is why gold functioned as money for so long. Its scarcity enforced discipline. It constrained excess. It preserved value across generations.

Bitcoin inherits this role in a digital context. With a fixed supply of 21 million, Bitcoin reintroduces monetary seasonality. There are periods for spending, periods for saving, periods for building.

Just as winter’s season of rest and repair plays a role in long-term health, scarce money creates a foundation for long-term wealth.

Scarcity as a Framework for Health and Wealth

My challenge for the remainder of this season is simple.

Embrace scarcity.

Embrace the shorter days. Wind down earlier in the evenings. Earlier dinners. Dimmer lights. A book instead of a screen. If you do, you’ll notice your body seeking rest much sooner. Respect the cycles that existed long before modern convenience. Your body needs it.

Embrace Bitcoin. A form of money whose supply cannot be diluted. Consider what monetary scarcity enables over long periods of time. Why has gold persisted for so long as a store of value?

Health and wealth both compound over time. Scarcity helps create a sound life.

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How I’m Embracing Scarcity This Winter

• Early bedtimes, typically in bed by 8:30–9 p.m.

• Blue light blocking glasses after sunset and before sunrise

• Shifting meals earlier, breakfast before 8:30 a.m., dinner usually around 5:30–6 p.m.

• Winding down earlier with lower light in the evenings

• Switching light bulbs from LEDs to warmer, full-spectrum incandescent lighting

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