Latent Value Of Chattels

Human psychology tricks us many times into believing that what we already possess is of less value when compared to the stuff that we don’t own. We often encounter situations where we are intensely searching something that we badly need without realizing that our quest would finally end up in a most unlikely place and that it was within our reach all the time. 

It would of course be a relief at that instant when we would have laid our hands on the new-found stuff but at the same time also embarrassing to learn that we had ignored it all the time.

One of Aesop’s fables drives this point home. A woodcutter used to earn his livelihood by selling firewood. It was a tradition in those days to pray wooden idols for wealth. 

The woodcutter had received one such wooden idol from his father who used to revere this idol always. He had heard from his father that the idol was very precious. 

Every day the woodcutter used to pray in front of this idol to make him rich.  However nothing seemed to happen. 

One fine day he ran out of his patience, took his axe and hit the idol hard. The wooden idol was destroyed and shattered into pieces. But the woodcutter was in for a surprise. 

He saw glittering gold coins that had fallen out of the idol. All these days the idol was storing the wealth that he had yearned for. Now he realized why his father mentioned it to be of great value.

We do not realize the worth of items that we use daily and look for apparently valuable items that we don’t own yet. We are deceived by the external world to such an extent that we fail to perceive what lies within ourselves, well within our reach. 

The woodcutter in the legend could finally be able to enjoy the hidden wealth but in a fit of rage. Unlike the woodcutter, the intelligent ones would know to control their anger and recognize the latent value of their chattels as well. 

Let us strive to reach that intelligence level.

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