Missing Middle

"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things" (1 Corinthians 13:11). In a world of scarcity, there is a lot of value in massive social pressure to work beyond enough. Drilled into my bubble growing up were ideas like delayed gratification, hard work, self-reliance, and being a provider. No one owes you anything, but people will rely on you. I have friends who were told not to do subjects like Art, Music, or even Biology because they wouldn't put food on the table. In a gendered society, it was normally guys given these constraints (there were definitely many constraints put on woman too). Be a Man. 'Missing Middle' or 'Idle Rich' is a term used for people who have enough themselves, and so choose other pursuits as they are free from financial constraints, and can be motivated by nice issues like fulfilment. I love 'childish things', but I also understand the why of putting them aside while there isn't enough food on the table for everyone.