I was sitting on the couch last Friday night working (sad I know). Hustle was on TV in the background. One scene in particular caught my attention: A handful of diamonds were laid down onto a velvet cloth lying on a black table. The diamonds had just been stolen from somewhere as a part of their latest con. All of the 'hustlers' were standing around marvelling at the sight of the diamonds, commenting in awe at how much they would be worth, what you could do with the money that could be made by selling them.
What struck me was the value that they associated - what we associate - with these small, clear, pretty rocks; that these particular small, clear, pretty rocks we call diamonds are worth a great deal. And the value that we humans place on diamonds, or anything else we have come to ‘know’ as valuable. It's funny, because what value do diamonds, or any other item we have come to ‘know’ as valuable - gold, silver etc. - really hold?
It is us humans that have created and spread this meaning, this perception of value.
But what are those diamonds really worth? In a world that is not run by capitalists and money, what good would they be to you? They're rocks. A little harder to find than the pebbles you kick accidentally on the street everyday, but still... What would happen if we erased everything anybody ever knew about diamonds - who would decide how much they were worth? Would you be willing to place the same level of value as those who decided? Are you now?
The richest man is the one who sees what diamonds really are. Rocks. And who can find happiness with the bare minimum. The happiest man is the one who is content when there is nothing left to take away; he whose freedom comes frome things that can't be stolen from us, but from knowledgeof how to live, how to survive. How to just 'be' happy.
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exuper
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