Gratitude and Virtual Living

I don't talk about our corporeal world much on this blog -- other than the seasons and such -- but today I have been pondering and that lead to this post. Here's the story.

A friend came by today to let me know that while checking on the price of bark mulch (the stuff that folks in the Northwest US put on their flowerbeds and sometimes their whole "lawn" areas)  he found it had more than doubled in the last five years.  I was not surprised.  Add to that the absence of free delivery on large loads. So thatt adds another 55 dollars for two miles.    And 3.5 percent charge if you use a credit card.   We are talking about a BIG BIG increase over the 2018 price. 

Now anyone old enough to have a sense of the ups and down of monetary history KNEW this was coming. Governments can't keep printing twenty dollar bills without a day of reckoning.  My reply to his news was, "well at least we can GET it" and that is pretty much how I felt.  The COVID years aren't quite behind us but they are at least mostly in shadow. It is still very difficult to get workers in my part of the globe. Help wanted signs abound.  I honestly wonder how folks are surviving if they aren't working.  

And that brings me around to our virtual landscape. While many real world prices have doubled in the last five years, our virtual costs have remained pretty constant for non-premium citizens -- and indeed have decreased in many consumer goods instances especially if you are a sales addict. Many creators are still here and for many that means making less money.  Most folks won't talk about their virtual earnings but for the record I am making about 20 percent of what I made five years ago and about 50 percent of what I made this time last year.

So I wanted to note that yes, these are tough times and likely more difficult days are on the horizon but I for one am happy that we still have folks doing what they do because the love the process.  

Hopefully we will clink on the bottom soon and work our way upwards.