A son once asked his father, “What is the value
Of my life?” So, the father gave his son a stone
And said, “Go to the market. If anyone there
Asks the price of the stone, then just hold in the air
Two fingers but speak not. Do not be answer prone.”
The boy went to do as his father told him to.

There, he saw an old woman. She asked, “What’s the price
Of that stone?” The boy quickly held up two fingers.
The old woman exclaimed, “Two dollars? Is that all
That it’s worth? Your price is most exceedingly small.”
In the boy’s mind the thought of his worth still lingers.
He went back to his father for some more advice.

The father told the son, “Go to the museum.”
So he did. There he saw am man dressed in a suit.
The man asked, “How much is that stone?” The youngster raised
His two fingers but said nothing. He was amazed
To hear the man say, “Two hundred?” Rather acute
Was the boy’s sense of where his worth is coming from.

To a precious stone store the father sent his son
Finally with the same instructions as before.
There he met an old jeweler who was excited
To see this stone. In fact, he was so delighted
That he offered two hundred thousand. So the more
You believe in your worth, the less asking is done.

Life is all about where you place yourself and how
You expect life to happen. You get to decide
What your worth is. You are not a commodity
To the people who love you. You are meant to be
In the lap of abundance. It can’t be denied
To the one who has learned to speak out and allow.