Inktober Day 9 prompt- Precious
The first Sherlock Holmes story I read was 'A scandal in Bohemia' and I remember finding this excerpt particularly revealing-
'When a woman thinks
that her house is on fire, her instinct is at once to
rush to the thing which she values most. It is a
perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have more
than once taken advantage of it. In the case of the
Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me,
and also in the Arnsworth Castle business. A mar-
ried woman grabs at her baby; an unmarried one
reaches for her jewel-box....'
I think this is a defining extract that encapsulates the two themes I wanted to outline as regards my thoughts on the quality of being 'Precious'.
Although Holmes makes this observation about the fairer sex alone, I'd like to extrapolate it and apply it to men as well. When asked what we consider most precious, it is human tendency to include a broad spectrum of things. However, without our cognisance, at a subconscious level, the list is far narrower than we'd like to think and sadly, is revealed to us only during times of imminent danger and emergencies. Of course, that's not to say that setting your house on fire to see what your instincts lead you to save is the best way to get your priorities in order, but that does not take away from the fact that it is the most effective.
Our perceptions about the value of things and people is what defines how precious they are to us. This is subjective, not only varying from one person to the next but also during the different stages of our lives.
For instance, when I was six or seven years old, we were holidaying in Singapore and I'd taken a pack of colour pencils and crayons with me to keep myself occupied during the flight. During the course of our stay, there was no circumstance that occasioned my bringing out the stationery again and so when it was eventually time for us to check out of the hotel after nearly ten days, I had entirely forgotten to pack them back in. Obviously, this dawned upon me only on our way to the airport by which time it was too late to retrieve the pouch from the room. For some reason, I remember this upsetting me terribly for I had come to associate a lot of good times with that particular set of pencils and I bawled on the entire journey back home. I recall thoughts (really silly ones, now that I think about it) such as 'Oh if only I had known that this was the last picture I would be colouring with this set, I would have done.....' and 'My poor pouch is going to feel all alone in this foreign land where it knows nobody.......' flooding my mind and seemed to realise just how precious I considered it only after I had lost it.
Now, however, this seems to me as being utterly ridiculous. Why on earth was I pouring my heart out over the loss of something so trivial? And that for you, is the subjectivity that I was talking about.
Today, eleven years later, I find certain other things far more precious such my folder of memories from my last year at school and birthday cards from my friends. I'm confident that eleven years hence, I will also cherish certain memories and moments from the present of which I have absolutely no idea now whatsoever.
And who knows, if I am still writing then, this article might make for an interesting time- capsule sort of device!
I think this is a defining extract that encapsulates the two themes I wanted to outline as regards my thoughts on the quality of being 'Precious'.
Although Holmes makes this observation about the fairer sex alone, I'd like to extrapolate it and apply it to men as well. When asked what we consider most precious, it is human tendency to include a broad spectrum of things. However, without our cognisance, at a subconscious level, the list is far narrower than we'd like to think and sadly, is revealed to us only during times of imminent danger and emergencies. Of course, that's not to say that setting your house on fire to see what your instincts lead you to save is the best way to get your priorities in order, but that does not take away from the fact that it is the most effective.
Our perceptions about the value of things and people is what defines how precious they are to us. This is subjective, not only varying from one person to the next but also during the different stages of our lives.
For instance, when I was six or seven years old, we were holidaying in Singapore and I'd taken a pack of colour pencils and crayons with me to keep myself occupied during the flight. During the course of our stay, there was no circumstance that occasioned my bringing out the stationery again and so when it was eventually time for us to check out of the hotel after nearly ten days, I had entirely forgotten to pack them back in. Obviously, this dawned upon me only on our way to the airport by which time it was too late to retrieve the pouch from the room. For some reason, I remember this upsetting me terribly for I had come to associate a lot of good times with that particular set of pencils and I bawled on the entire journey back home. I recall thoughts (really silly ones, now that I think about it) such as 'Oh if only I had known that this was the last picture I would be colouring with this set, I would have done.....' and 'My poor pouch is going to feel all alone in this foreign land where it knows nobody.......' flooding my mind and seemed to realise just how precious I considered it only after I had lost it.
Now, however, this seems to me as being utterly ridiculous. Why on earth was I pouring my heart out over the loss of something so trivial? And that for you, is the subjectivity that I was talking about.
Today, eleven years later, I find certain other things far more precious such my folder of memories from my last year at school and birthday cards from my friends. I'm confident that eleven years hence, I will also cherish certain memories and moments from the present of which I have absolutely no idea now whatsoever.
And who knows, if I am still writing then, this article might make for an interesting time- capsule sort of device!
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