But does it really? Or are we just too caught up in defending our own small patch of the universe that we fail to see that the most important things exist in enough abundance for everyone to share? Some things will always exist in limited quantities. Time. Physical energy. Money. Food. But the relative scarcity of these things can be offset by the limitless supplies of creativity, love, and regard for our fellow human beings.

Think about it. Perhaps someone you know gets an amazing opportunity. Or your best friend makes a new friend. Do these things truly diminish you in any way? Whether you believe they do or not depends on whether you’re living your life with an attitude of scarcity or one of abundance. It’s a conscious choice.

I choose abundance. When friends and family have good fortune, I choose to rejoice with and for them. Sometimes, it’s not an easy choice. Sometimes, good things happen to people I don’t particularly care for and it’s all too easy to slip into wondering why they deserved it and I didn’t. It is often an exercise in sheer will to continue believing that there are as many good things out there waiting for me as for anyone else. But for me, there is no alternative other than living a life filled with bitterness and envy which I flatly refuse to do.

It took just 15 hours to raise enough money to replace the fiddle.

Brian has spent a ton of time and effort establishing ETH on the social networks. ETH has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and a bunch more sites. He figured out a way to stream the majority of their shows live and generally has achieved a level of accessibility that far surpasses most bands.

Today, he reaped the benefits of that effort. It’s a testament not only to his fans and his music, but to the incredible power of social networking.

Have fun shopping, Brian!

p.s. Brian suggested this morning that those who didn’t get the chance to donate should consider donating to school music programs. The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation does fantastic work in this area, if you wish to donate.

Rep. Davis would do well to read this article and remediate some of her ignorance. For example, Mr. Allen mentions that, for one housing project in Milwaukee, the nearest grocery store is *three miles* away. For someone making minimum wage without a car, that’s a trip of near wagon-train proportions. Yet there are numerous fast-food restaurants within easy walking distance of the project. There’s something deeply classist about that. Access to wholesome food should be a baseline human right for every person.

I realize I’ve been on a rip about Rep. Davis lately, but it’s because I think the problem of urban hunger is incredibly important. Rep. Davis is probably no more ignorant than most middle- and upper-class Americans about the problem of urban hunger. She just happened to speak up about what she thought she knew. I’m constitutionally incapable of allowing that kind of ignorance to propagate.

It will be all I can do to get up there and get in. But I wish I could afford one of these packages. Trent’s using his formidable marketing skills to help out a fan in need. It’s an interesting contrast to the Britney Spears promo I posted about a while back.

So yeah, not only a great musician and marketing genius, also a class guy.