The Essence of Substance

Everything has its value... but to what degree is the question I am asking myself tonight.

A few months ago I was watching Miami Ink and a mother wanted to get a tattoo of a ring her son gave her a few years back when he was 6 years old. Looking at the ring... it is simple & probably inexpensive. The son found it somewhere & gave it to her. But it is priceless as it was a gift from her son. Her son is now in the teens, and the ring has faded and has a missing stone. She wanted a tattoo of it so that she can have it on her forever, just like when she first got it.

Similar incident happened to me last month that touched me. My son went back to Alor Setar with his Dad and grandparents. He found a hand phone beaded ornament and ask Ted to give it to me. It looks inexpensive but it is priceless to me. I attached it to my purse so that I always have it at work. Just a reminder on how love can be shown with an act of random and chance. That ornament somehow has an essence of value just because Aiman made it so.... for me.


So how can something cheap, be priceless or valuable? The essence of any substance comes from the beholder. You made it priceless. If you cherish something, even if it doesn't cost anything, it becomes valuable. I can live in a hut and made it a castle, I can drive a Matrix and imagine that it feels like a Volkswagen. It may not be anything to the person next to me....but if I am grateful for them and hold them dear.... they are the best.... for me. The question is how do I want it to be? It is all up to me isn't it? I put the values in everything and it is my power to set the standard.

Take what you need
Need only what you have
And be grateful for what you have

So from today onwards, I need to really believe in my own standards and not by what others set for themselves. Other people will have their own sets of values and mine with my own. In this materialistic world... this may be difficult. I may look at others and feel that I don't have enough or I don't have the best. It is not a question of stopping myself from comparing but a question of believing in my own set of values and not feel inferior or inadequate about it. Every substance has its own essence.... and it is so because you think it so.

But I still would love to have a Volkswagen some day.