Lambda Piece

Like many things, it started out as a small thing, sitting in the back corner of the world.

You finish your day like any other, and after all of your responsibilities were completed for the day you began to sit back and relax. Browsing the web has become a habit now. You place a soothing cup of tea on the desk that lays before you as you sit down, starting up your computer to begin your journey through the web.

Things go as they usually do, watching videos and reading forums on various different subjects that, while interesting on the surface, are something of no real use to you. Minutes turn into hours, and before you know it the clock is begging you to go to bed. You tell yourself “just a couple more minutes” and forget about the time.

But this time, something changes. You stumble into that part of the web where subjects are all over the place. You scroll and scroll, seeing various different things and events, but stop when you see a post by someone. It's about Bitcoin. You stop scrolling.

You had heard of this so-called Bitcoin before. You're sure of that. But you realize that you don't really know what it is, apart from it being this new fangled “internet money”, as you've heard others call it.

You open a new tab with the goal of fulfilling your curiosity. You're interested in finding out what this internet money is all about, but in the back of your mind you tell yourself that you'll just search what Bitcoin is, and then head to bed. You've got a job to get to in the morning. And you've got bills to pay.

And so you being your search. You type in the words “what is Bitcoin” and press enter. You find some forums and articles on it, and decide to click on one of the articles.

You skim through it, and now your interest has been piqued. You decide to give this search a bit more time, and continue to read more on this cryptocurrency.

Hours pass, and now you're convinced that this is the future. You start looking at how to buy some Bitcoin, since all the forums where saying that this would be the currency of the future. You do some digging and find out that the process isn't as simple as you thought it would be. Besides, why would you spend your hard earned cash into a digital coin that, while intriguing, has no real value to you at the time?

So you close the tab. You're satisfied with the time you've spent researching that Bitcoin thing you kept hearing about, but decide not to buy into the hype. Remember, you've got bills to pay.

Time passes, and you witness the surge of crypto. Bitcoin hits thousands of dollars. You see the news, and realize the mistake you have made.

“I should've bought some.” You tell yourself.

“Even fifty bucks would have made me some good money.” You mumble.

These thoughts would follow you for months as the price rose. But you never bought.

“It's too expensive now.” You thought.

And so you accept the fact that you had the opportunity to invest. And you move on.

More time passes, and you begin to forget about Bitcoin. You'd occasionally remember what could've been, but always brush it to the side.

But then it booms. And this time, it really booms.

You watch from the sidelines, baffled at what you're seeing.

Those thoughts of could've, would've, should've start flooding right back into your mind. But now they're back with a vengeance.

You whip out your calculator, and begin to multiply some numbers to see what could've been. Your jaw drops. You scramble to open an account to buy some Bitcoin. But you stop yourself.

Now it's too expensive. Now I'm far too late in the game.

You step back from your computer. You let out a sigh.

You're about to make the decision to try and forget about all this crypto stuff, but before you get to make it, a thought occurs in your mind.

“What about the others?”

You start looking at other cryptocurrencies, seeing what's out there. Looking for other options.

You find some coins that look interesting, but once you dig into them you realize that the risk is far too great. You still have bills to pay, after all.

So you keep searching. And searching. When suddenly, you stumble upon something interesting.

This interest has you hooked. You begin to learn more about cryptocurrencies, as well as things relating to finances. You want to be prepared, you tell yourself. Prepared for this “big boom” that countless others keep speaking of.

And you’re oh so excited. You can already see yourself in the future, having no financial worries whatsoever. Seeing yourself driving that expensive car you’ve always dreamed of having. Living in your dream house.

You’re excited because, as far as you can tell, your future is set to be one without worries, only financial freedom.

And who doesn’t want that? Those bills keep piling up, as well as your responsibilities in life. Seeing a ticket out of there is a no brainer.

But even with all of that hope, you still have your doubts.

You don’t tell your family about your crypto investments, because you can already hear what they’re going to say about it. Most of your friends know nothing about them either, with your closest of friends being the sole exception.

Like you, they’re interested in this new technology and its future possibilities. But they voice their doubts far louder than you do yours, or so it seems.

But you're already in too deep to get out. You sometimes think about leaving this space behind, telling yourself that the stress is too much for you, that the risks are too high. But that day never comes. Instead, you shove those thoughts in the back of your mind, reminding yourself that countless others are in this with you.

“I’m not alone.” You tell yourself.

And you’re right. You know you’re right.

You’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of other people supporting cryptocurrencies. Sure, the communities within this space are split up into different groups, but you tell yourself that, at the end of the day, we’re all here for the same thing.

Freedom.

You tell yourself that these other people are just like you. People that also have bills to pay. People that want to become financially free. People who want to become worry free.

And so, you let the doubts fade into black, and let the hope wash over you.

After all, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, right?

You ponder on that question for a bit, before heading to bed for the night.

Perhaps the answer to that question will come to you tomorrow, or the day after.

Thanks for reading, and stay safe out there!

-Andrew

All images used in this article provided thanks to Unsplash

Continue reading with a Coil membership.