By Paulo Coelho
Cassan Said Amer tells a story about a lecturer who began a seminar holding up a 20 dollar bill, and asking:
- Who wants this 20 dollar bill?
Several hands went up, but the lecturer said:
- Before handing it over, there’s something I must do.
He furiously crushed it, and asked again:
- Who still wants this bill?
The hands continued raised.
- And what if I do this?
He threw it against the wall, letting it fall to the floor, kicked it, stamped in it and again held up the bill - all dirty and crumpled. He repeated the question, and the hands continued to be held high.
- You mustn’t ever forget this scene - said the lecturer. - No matter what I do with this money, it’ll still be a 20 dollar bill. Many times in our lives, we are crushed, stamped on, kicked, maltreated, offended; however, in spite of this, we are still worth the same.
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I’m actually very glad I saw this…My year-long relationship just ended and I feel a little kicked around and dirtied, but I must remember that through this I have not lost myself, and I never will lose myself…
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a little late to the example, so many people so many different reactions. Just accept it for what it is encouragement.
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Firstly, @Heart - What the hell are you on about? Who gives a monkey’s whether someone’s a virgin.
Secondly, what is this university lecturer supposed to be teaching? How does this fit on any curriculum? Nice platitude but so what? Is there any intellectual rigour to this?
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It only proves that in today’s world MONEY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE.
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There is a logical error here. It is trying to state that a person has equal value whatever their status in life is based on that a $20 bill has the same value even when it is trashed. The major problem here however is that the $20 bill only retains its value because it is useful, while as a broken down person such as an alcoholic or a chronically ill person is not so useful.
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wannabedesi Reply:
August 30th, 2009 at 4:15 am
Value isn’t based on the productivity of a person, rather on the quality of their spirit. The billionaire on wall street who beats his wife is less of a human than the inmate on death row who trains dogs to live with people. If one humans actions benefits another human positively they have value and worth.
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Rep Reply:
September 7th, 2009 at 10:37 am
“Usefulness” and “benevolence” do not necessarily mean “valuable”.
Somebody tell both the Buddha and the banker to hush. :>
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Forerunner Reply:
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:26 am
The $20 bill did not make a choice one way or the other on what happened to it. Most people, not all but MOST people on the other hand make choices everyday to adversely affect their lives( drugs , alcohol, laziness) and they continue to make poor choices. They blame it on society, their parents, or the “man” for the way their lives turn out and will beg you or get the Government to take that $20 bill from you. In most cases we determine our outcome.
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Nurotek Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 1:46 am
technicaly everyone is equal. weither or not your a millionare or a junkie on the street. weither or not YOU care about someone is your personal perspective. my perspective is that all humans are worthless save for our futile little existance. in the greater scheme of things we fuck shit up, reguardless of weither or not were helpful to society. society its self is a degenerative unit. we main, kill, destroy, rape, lie, amoungst other things. and not just to other humans, but to the world in general. so to say that just because someone is a addict that they are any less human that you or me is a false, ignorant statement. i bet the junkie that lives on the streets and brings in bottles and cans to get his or her food/drugs/whatever recycles more then you ever would or have in your entire life. therefore making him/her a more USEFUL human than yourself.
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“oh Lord je ne suis pas digne de te recevoir, mais dis seulement une parole et mon ame sera guerie.”
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I have framed the note Jesse Owens gave me.It is precious.
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OMG Paulo!!
I just happened to come across this entry of yours and wanted you to see a piece that I had written on another blog. I use this exact example of the dollar bill with my clients and as you can read from my post, how I use this with people who have been abused. (I’m a therapist in an Out Patient Mental Health Clinic.)
http://www.delmer.com/?p=1209
~ZZ
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i like this story so much coz it says that no matter what happened to us in some point of time and made us feel nothing and we suffered alot, no one have the right to consider us lower than the community, we still the same and maybe better coz we have learned from our mistakes….
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Dearest Paulo and friends,
I loved this story :) but.. It never seizes to amaze me what people will do for money.. Even in absolute filth people still give it so much value.. Just imagine for a second if we looked beyond the grease outside of some people.. How much the better the world would be. Hmmm.. It also amazes is how some give so much more value to people with money.. Regardless how they got is.. Regardless of who they are.
Thank you for being
Yajna
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Novanna52 Reply:
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:12 am
There was a movie, once, that showed people going after money that was in a vat of cattle urine and feces. I’m afraid many of us are like that, but don’t value other human beings in that way.
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Es vdd cuesta trabajo volver a creer que somos y valemos lo mismo, pero sinceramente creo que despues de que la vida nos da esos aplastanos y sufrimos…crecemos y mucho y esto nos hace valer mucho mas de lo que lo haciamos antes
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This story is really encouraging. It reminds me of the trials that people face everyday and whatever the outcome, we are the same and if not even stronger. Thanks for these simple words.
-Angeline
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Optimistic and pleasant, yes. Also selective … in fact cherry-picking and, thus, misleading.
There are plenty of ways of destroying the value of a $20 bill and reduce it to worthless trash or burnt ash.
The same with people and their hopes.
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Yes its an interesting look ,all though no matter what happens on the outside - on the inside its still the same - like people that worry about having plastic surgery and stuff to change the appearance ,you are still the same person ..
Be happy with who you are - Blessings Tania
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Another favorite story of mine from “Be like the flowing river”.
“..we are still worth the same.”…yes..
love
Agnieszka
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I liked the part that no matter what, there were hands raised… No matter what happens to us, there are always some people who can make us believe in ourselves and importance of our existence
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I like the optimistic outlook in this text. Wish this could be the case with virginity. Some women actually have surgery to have their virginity back, but it still don’t make them virgins again, does it? Then again, who’d like to go around as a virgin all life! Once I read an older understanding of virginity was; a woman who had never been pregnant. So, with this as with a lot of things, its so much in our minds, how we understand and interpretate our self and our surroundings.
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I loved this story…No matter what we have been through, and what we may come up with in our future, we should never lose sight of who we really are..That makes all the difference..
Love and Graditude
Annie
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Thank you Paolo for theese lines :-)
They encourage me !!!
I have been having a lot of hard times when I was grewing up.
And for 2 years now I have had the haredst time of my life.
But I wouldn´t be without them. It has been giving me more clarity and insight of other people as well as myself. And I have began to find my way back to my “path”.
I think that we sometimes need some “lessons”, and we have to go outside our box to try different things.
But sometimes we also need to have patience and wait for the right moment !!
To have faith in ourselves and the universe :-)
Love Jessica
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Sure. I know that story. But with another end. Indeed, what if we tear it up? You need scotch-tape. And what if we burn it? You’re not existing anymore…
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We must ‘know’ who we are and never be influenced by the behaviour of others towards us, our failures or disappointments..
They are only ‘preparations’ and ‘exercises’ for better times.
LOVE,
Thelma
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