Time for Value

--Once again, My Thanks to Georgia Popplewell for selecting another one of My posts, "Do You See What I See?"


I just spent 138 minutes copying photographs to my Screen Saver file, all because I wanted to find one particular picture featured on the website's home page. (No, it's not the kind of website you think it is. It's this one: http://www.outdoor-photos.com/)

The picture I wanted is the small one at the top left. And though I searched every picture in the archives looking for the full-size image, I didn't find it. I did end up copying some 85 pictures though, so My image file and screensaver are now a lot more interesting.

Was I productive? Not really. Was I procrastinating? Yeah. Am I bothered by it? No. So long as I don't do it again anytime soon.

In Our rush-rush, get-it-done-yesterday, freakish-focus-on-speed world We've forgotten that some of the best experiences We enjoy are not the product of speed, but of patience. Sure, one can buy a CD with 10,000 images on it, but is it more valuable than the 2,000-image CD I can create now, all the images personally selected by Me over a period of many hours? Not to Me it isn't.

Or how about buying a collection of figurines, say 12 at once, and judging its value over a collection of a dozen figurines acquired over the years in travels and unexpected places? If you want to show off--to say "Look what I have"--then buy bulk, buy now and forget value. If you want to savor, enjoy and explore, then time is your ally and patience its vehicle.

Yeah, I spent over 2 hours chasing a picture I couldn't find. Found 80+ more I did like and that makes My collection--My effort--more valuable to Me. It really is a personal matter and what you value is going to be different from what I value. But no one can reasonably claim that what is instantly-acquired with minimal effort has more value than what takes time.

Isn't that what "Easy come, easy go" refers to?

And isn't that exactly the reason Our Fool's focus on "quick fixes" means nothing to anyone, not even them?

Enough about Fools: I've got an interesting picture to track down.


The Jenius Has Spoken.