"Please sir, I want some more." - Oliver Twist

I don't know why those words have such a visceral impact on me. I am a man of simple tastes and modest desires - easily amused, easily satisfied. Maybe it's because the humble way that Oliver asks for more. He isn't demanding. He isn't greedy. He isn't asking for something he shouldn't reasonably expect to receive. Maybe it's because the first time I read them I realized I wanted more, too - and I wasn't thinking of gruel.

It is likely that very nearly every person who has ever walked upon this earth has been led by some variation of "Please sir, I want some more." Too many would leave off the "Please sir." Many would substitute "a lot" for "some." Quite a few would substitute "it all" for "some more." Even the most humble of us want more of something. Whatever a particular individual's desire is, it would seem that mankind was created with a desire to grow. A desire for more.

I just can't decide if that belief inevitably leads to the conclusion that satisfaction in this life can never be achieved. From what I said at the outset, one would tend to conclude that I do think so. At a younger age, I was certainly unsatisfied. I was unsatisfied with nearly everything in my life. Now I'm much older, though, and can say in all honesty that I truly am easily satisfied. My material wants are few and far exceeded by what I already possess. In fact, much of the time the idea of purging most of my worldly possessions sounds very attractive. I'm acutely aware of the basic truth of the statement "The more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you."

So, if I say that I really don't long for much in the way of worldly possessions, how can I believe that "I want some more" is a universal desire?

Because there is so much more to want more of. Very high on the list would be time with family. The time I have with family brings me joy beyond my ability to express, but more would be better. Also important on the list would be greater ability to communicate my thoughts and experiences to others. As I have progressed to well past middle age, for some reason that has become more and more important to me. As it is, I can do well at expressing things that I think are important, but more ability would be better. The list could get very long, but the point is made. I am a happy man. I am satisfied. More would not necessarily make me happier or more satisfied. But more of some things would still be better.

My life may not be blatantly dominated by that simple request, but I have realized that it can never be far from my behavior. Thus, it will always be there, lurking in my thoughts, my decisions and my actions. Some "more" I can provide for myself. Some, I have to humble myself and ask from others. Some only comes by the grace of God. Whatever the source of "more" I will continue, even while content and satisfied, to work for it, ask for it and pray for it - because that is what we do.

Learn more about this author, Jim Ruth.
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