Listen carefully and you may hear the sound of the water, the sound of the chime, and
of course the surrounding sounds.
I mention this because here I am in one of the most beautiful places on earth, one of
the most beautiful gardens in this world, all alone, listening to the airplanes overhead.
The airplanes of course are the sound of commerce and the happy people traveling to and fro.
Here I can appreciate the sounds of solitude and in a setting that is far more beautiful
than I can explain, and here I am enjoying it all today.
If I had a billion dollars I could not have made a more beautiful setting, and I could
not have had more privacy, and I could not have had a staff of gardeners to sculpt a
more beautiful and manicured place.
I thought of myself as being extremely wealthy.
After all, one's value is not in its flavor, even with additional salt and pepper, it still
does not taste good, but its value is as an agent of bartering.
This importance is only realized when things of value are exchanged for currency.
This garden, for example, millions of dollars could buy it and to what end, I'll tell you
to what end, for an appreciation of its beauty, for its privacy, and for the peace of mind
that comes with these nuances.
And here I am today, I had it all, I had all the qualities that money could buy, and I'm
paying less than 10 cents a day.
Being here as an American, appreciating the quality of life, sort of reminded me a little
bit about what the European on the Internet said about Americans.
He was not very flattering because he was quoting somebody else anyway, be that as it
may, he said in a paraphrase, that Americans are so much into bling bling that they can
no longer think think.
The youngest child can tell you the cost of Nike sneakers, but even the oldest American
does not know or see the value in anything.
This Internet sage, I'll call him, he went on to say that the average American believes
that flaunting their cash is a way to gain respect, and they have no idea whatsoever
that it does the exact opposite.
He was talking about, I think, celebrities that flaunt their newfound money by showing
off their bling blings, and they, these celebrities will hardly ever do anything to help the less
fortunate.
I suppose I was a little offended by his words because these observations are actually filled
with holes.
No matter, my rasta buddy said it best.
He said, I have friends, food to eat, a place to sleep, and I am one with my creator, I
am rich, I am two, I just don't have any money.
I also came here to test my 1964 Takimar lens on my Canon T1i.
So what do you think of the results?
