Sunsets and Gold - which one has intrinsic value?
Intrinsic value of Sunsets.
Living on top of a mountain has its own advantages and troubles. Getting clean water, sewage systems, and climbing uphill everyday are troubles. Occasional landslides on nearby hills might scare the shit out of everyone in the household on stormy nights. But, if these troubles are forgotten, the real value comes with sunsets and sunrises. Light will appear on your doorstep one hour before everyone else in the valley. You will get a bird's eye view to the sky free of charge every day, without having to take a flight like a red Bull. Magnificent sunsets will color the sky in almost every evening. I would spend half an hour just watching king size bats flying over the river while the background of the evening sky slowly changes its color from yellow to purple over a tinge of orange. Can you give a value to such a human experience? It does not feel important when I am facing the wind over the mountain, but surely, it has profound meaning and value when I write about it on the paper. How is that even possible.
Intrinsic value of Gold.
What is common to sunsets and gold? I can only give you thousand differences. Sunsets, are on the sky, seen with eyes and intangible. But gold is on the ground, again seen with eyes, reflecting light, but tangible and heavy. Gold is considered valuable by many, except rare few individuals in corners of the world who do not have contacts with wide human society, or individuals who seek the truth of life and understood how things are valued in the first place. Consider where the value of Gold comes from. It is mainly not by its use, as we use gold in day-to-day life vary rarely. Its value lies in its scarcity and the social agreement on its value. So, gold itself represent value, on its own without any adjunct. It can replace money when there is a recession and inflation, as Money will be abundant and useless in such occasions. Now consider the following quote.
Gold has a price because people agree upon it. Sunset needs no agreement to be beautiful.
When I first read the quote, It went "Hmmmm,, that cannot be true. Something is missing." I agreed with the first half of it instantly, that the Gold has a price because people agree upon it. But the second part makes no sense. "Does sunsets need no agreement to be beautiful?" It seems wrong. Sunsets do need agreement for it to be beautiful. It is not a social agreement. Sunset needs an agreement with yourself. You must judge it beautiful, after watching it for some time. It seems everything else we value in our whole life, day in day out, needs our agreement to it is valuable or not. Some people can value roses, over sunsets. Some can value professional life over family life. Some can value art while others value science. Not anyone is wrong, not anyone is right. These are just judgements of our own mind. You will know this only when you stare at your mind what is happening all day. Truth is sunsets are as valueless (has no intrinsic value) as gold when considered without the consciousness to judge it otherwise. If you do not believe me, ask a monkey.
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