The Value of Something

Sauntering one evening in the forest of my mind where thoughts nothing but wildly densely grow, I was pondering over this thought about how I was going to manage purchasing a new cell phone and this is what I arrived at.

Without losing a second, I took out my pen and scribbled this graph. Now, as you see, I am not particularly good in drawing but I hope I managed it all right.

Now this simple graphical representation of the idea in my head was effective enough in reminding me of all those times when I have been careless enough to lose things which were important to me at some point in life.

It so happened, that one fine morning while I left home for work, I was careless enough to lose my cell phone back in the cab while paying the cab-driver and careless moreover to not check for it once even when the nagging feeling that I am missing something was scampering through my mind. I checked for it good an hour and a half later after I reached work only to realize that I didn’t have it with me. Panic set in and I made no less than about 80 calls in about fifteen minutes. Friends. Family. Colleagues. Travel-mates. No one was spared from receiving an all-my-mistake-yet-i-am-bothering-you morning call. Everyone was sorry for me and my loss. Well, losing a cell-phone is something. I was surprised at the sympathetic responses I received from a few friends. I can bet I couldn’t have expected a similar reception had I lost my pet dog.

Few hours passed and my number would throw up nothing but a ‘SWITCHED OFF’ message on every trial call. What was next? I knew I was phoneless. Maybe even homeless. Helpless. It was a few days after then that I was planning about getting a new phone and was calculating finances when this vague thought engulfed me. This was not the first time I had lost something owing to my carelessness.

So the above graph stands true in all respect. The value of something varies at different points in life. It is at a desirably high level when we want it. Or let me put it like this. We value something enormously when we desire it. This value, if you have noticed increases gradually until that day when you have finally procured or achieved it. But as soon as you have that thing in your possession, the value of it now decreases with every passing minute. You may, you might not notice it. But it does. And then comes a time when you turn so used to to it that you barely acknowledge its presence since now it is just another thing in your collection of things. And as soon as you lose it, your life is turned upside down like a tumultuous storm just hit you. Well, that is when you most value that thing because now you don’t desire it but you crave it. You don’t just want it but you need it. And somehow you cannot imagine life without it. This can be something as simple as a pen, your coat button, your pet animal, a favorite earring set, or something like relationships.

In all the things that I have lost, I regret most the times when I have imprudently watch people go. Lost them since I was too busy to reason them. And it pains to know that no matter what I do, I am never getting them back. I convince myself that that’s how fate had it for me, saying egoistic statements like ‘if they left me they were never really meant for me‘. But nothing overrides the pain that follows that makes me realize that it was my mistake I did let them go at the first place. That I did not care enough when they were around. That I learnt to value them only after they left. After-all, it might be soothing to think that you were right but it is 0nly as long as you don’t start missing them. Because something that was put up with you on earth, was there for a reason. Because the value of something always comes back.
Leaving you wanting it more than ever.  Isn’t it so?
What do you think?

-Asha Seth

Side Note – This is purely a personal observation. Readers might have distinct notions of the idea depicted in the work. With all due regards, respect is advanced towards sharing of personal views on the same.