What is the value of a rock?
I sat comfortably on the couch with my back sink-ed into the softness of the couch’s fur in this cold winter. My dad was telling me a story. This story was rather childish, but little did I know that this story was going to change how I perceived life …
So the story begins at a temple with a two main characters. One is the grand master that has been cultivating his spiritual self for a long time and the other one is a little young boy that recently got his head shaved to begin his adventure as a monk.
One day, the boy asked the grand master "Master, what is the value of life?"
So the master placed a quirky smile on his face and replied "If you really want to know then take a rock from the back yard and go to the flea market. When someone asks you if you are going to sell that rock, show them the peace sign to indicate a "2". Do not say anything and do not sell the rock. Once you come back with the rock, I will tell you"
Flea Market
So the boy did as he was told by his Master and went down to the flea market. He stood next to a vegetable store for a while and started to hear people discussing in the background "That rock can help me keep my vegetables from flying away when I need to dry them under the sun."
Suddenly, there was a lady that walked up to the boy and asked him "how much are you selling this rock for?"
As instructed by his master, he showed the lady the peace sign and the lady replied "two rand?"
The boy kept quiet, simply following instructions again. The lady rushed to say "sorry, I meant is it twenty rand?"
The boy ran home without selling the rock and asked the master the same question "Can you tell me what is the value of life now?"
So the master told him "I need you to do it again tomorrow but this time at a museum. Once you come back, I promise I will tell you."
Museum
So the boy did as he was told, trotting down the street to a museum. He stood at the entrance of the museum. Shortly, he started hearing people discuss in the background "That rock seems like it is quite special. I have never seen a rock like that before"
Suddenly, a gentleman came up to him and ask "I would like to buy your rock to carve a model for the museum. How much are you going to sell it for?"
As instructed, he showed the peace sign and the gentleman replied "two hundred rand?"
The boy kept quiet and the gentleman rushed to speak again "Sorry, I meant two thousand rand?"
The boy looked at the gentleman with his eyes opened wide but did not say a thing.
He ran home to his master and asked again "Can you tell me what is the value of life now?"
The master replied "Just once more, I promise this is the last one. This time, I want you to go to the Artemis Gallery" Artemis Gallery is a shop that sells ancient artefacts.
Artemis Gallery
So the boy did as told and went to the Artemis Gallery. Again, he stood at the door holding the rock in his hands. Shortly, he started hearing people discussing the possible periods in which this rock could have existed in history. "Maybe it was during the cold war"
Suddenly, a gentleman came up to him and asked him "How much are you selling this rock for?"
So the boy showed him the peace sign and the gentleman replied "twenty thousand rand?"
The boy, in such a shock of a high price, dropped his jaw and said "What?"
The gentleman apologies and said "Sorry, I meant two hundred thousand?"
The boy ran home to his master and asked him "Can you tell me what is the Meaning of Life now?"
… Then my dad cut the story there and asked me "So did you get it?"
I gave him a slight frown and replied him with an awkward silence so he continued to say "The value of your life depends on the scenery you place yourself at. If you want money, then the value of your life will revolve around money. If you want a family, then the value of your life will revolve around a family. If you want a spiritual life, then the value of your life will revolve around a spiritual life.
My thoughts
This made a lot of sense to me once I started to digest this story and the meaning behind it. Then I started to evaluate myself. I started off wanting to change the world spiritually. I want to give people enlightenment. So I decided that I need to be successful because Mandela, South African President back in 1994, was a spiritual person that was able to save millions of lives. He had power and authority and when he spoke, people listened. Today, if I take his words and I said them to some random stranger, they won’t listen because I’m not Mandela and I do not hold his authority. I needed authority for people to listen to me… But slowly as I started to gaining authority, I realised that my intentions have been shifted. I started falling in love with "chasing" for this success. Is this really what I want? Maybe I will end up doing something smaller on the side so that I can focus on changing people’s lives by using a different method? Or should I still fight for that authority that I had so much faith in since I was a toddler? Is my scenery the right one for me?
Out of all those questions, I have come to a conclusion that is something else. The value of my life depends on which scenery I place my efforts in. I might not have found the Meaning of Life as yet, but I have surely found the value my life can have. So I guess it is something worth smiling about before going to bed.
I am sure this ocean will let me know the meaning of life once I am ready for it…