“Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed Idealist” – George Carlin

“The best stories in the world to me are the ones that elicit a real emotion, but have humor” – Jim Carrey

“Laugh loudly, laugh often, and most important, laugh at yourself” – Chelsea Handler

An abundance of wisdom, knowledge, and intellect can take many forms. It’s not just the super smart person in the corner, nor is it only the monk in robes. It’s also the comedian, the writer, the salesperson, and the woman down the street who knows how to get your tomatoes to ripen. This form of abundance is one of the most shared forms.

What story would an an author let languish when it could be shared? What comedian can resist cracking jokes, even in the most inappropriate places?

Instead we often see the opposite with this type of abundance. Because it’s meant to be shared, and people share it abundantly, it’s valued less than material wealth. It’s value can be ascertained by how much others are willing to give in their pursuit of it. The monk, with his wisdom, chooses to live apart from society, making the cost of his wisdom the difficult route to receive it. The woman down the street with her gardening knowledge? She won’t come to us and plead for our time, she will simply grow the best tomatoes and share her crop. If we want knowledge from her about her tomatoes, we’ll have to ask.

Comedians have a very long history of sharing their wealth while walking a tightrope of plausible deniability, balancing conventional norms in one hand, while carrying an umbrella of ideals in the other. The court jester, the bard too, were charged with keeping their employer entertained and grounded, but not so insulted that they would remove their employee’s important body parts.

The teacher, the tutor, and the taxman, all need these things in abundance to do their work. The field of abundance in this area is wide and plentiful. It can easily be shared but it is as valuable as any of the other forms of abundance.