By C.L. Harmon

Most of what consists in this world can be bought, sold or bartered. It gives concepts and tangible items an intrinsic value that can be measured and given a degree of worth. But before materialism, there were other concepts that are of immeasurable value that no amount can be affixed. What makes these so unique is that they cannot be purchased, stolen or exchanged. They can be given, earned and lost only by our choices. Wealth, pride, privilege and poverty play no role in one’s choice to possess or offer these concepts . And yet they are the very same concepts used to put worth to every person’s existence. The irony of such a system seems to prove the very existence of a creation that is directed by a higher authority steering its creation to noble lives. Wealth will not define a man, but greed or generosity will be a legacy. One will give shame, while the other will earn respect. One will stain with dishonesty, while the other will be a remembrance of goodwill. What is most precious has always been the ideals which we choose for ourselves. Those choices are who we are now and how we will be remembered. They are the value we place on our own lives and the worth left behind to others.