Temptations

[Shin'Ar]

Does anyone know the reason why we would pay thousands of dollars more for a gemstone that is stamped with some authenticity, than we would for a stone that cannot be differentiated from the other except by the ones who would stamp the mark?

Are we trying to impress them as we give them that extra thousand bucks?

Well, no one else would know the difference by simply looking at it.

As a matter of fact there are clones that far outshine some of the cheaper diamonds. In order to get the real high class diamonds that would actually match the look of the clone one would have to buy the more expensive diamonds.

And yet people still pay large amounts for even the cheaper diamonds, rather than buy the more impressive looking knockoffs, just to be able to 'say' it is a diamond.

And in fact, nobody could say whether or not that person was telling the truth about it being a real diamond or not without having it appraised.

This is one example of how the human likes to feed their ego.

And this becomes even more greatly exaggerated as one climbs the ladder of 'success' and riches. For the sake of prestige they will pay vast amounts just for the sake of 'classification'.

Porsches intsead of Volkswagons. Ferraris instead of Porsches. Castles instead of mansions.

As a matter of fact if we could buy the world in order to have more than the other has just to be able to hold that higher prestige, we would. Many have tried to own the entire world.

This even extends into space as we try to be the first there and attempt to acquire holdings even beyond the planet.

But, it seems that there is a limit to this ego feeding frenzy. When offered the opportunity to acquire further, that greed suddenly stops.

When offered the chance to evolve beyond the human experience to where anyone can achieve higher states of being, the interest in rising ceases, and the human seems suddenly content to be human.

Why?

Because at that point it is no longer a matter of greed. When it is something that is offered to all, regardless of status, it is of no interest. It is this very fact which the market is based upon. That which is rare is expensive, and that which is easily acquired is considered cheap. And in many cases, it becomes a matter of demand. Regardless of rarity or prestige, when a thing is in high demand it becomes valuable. And as soon as the demand for it decreases its value also decreases.

All of these expensive diamonds which people have spent fortunes on, fortunes in most eyes, would be of little worth or prestige if a diamond mine was suddenly discovered that was so filled with the stones that the market became flooded with them.

What is this temptation to have more than any of our brethren, until it is something that is offered freely to all?

What is this desire to rise above everyone else?

It is self-satisfaction. Self glorification.

And self satisfaction cannot exist when offered to everyone other than self.

It is the 'self' which attaches us to this planet with such a grip that it becomes an addiction.

All of that acquisition is not taken into the next life or the grave. That 'self' ends leaving that treasure behind for others to gather.

Take care about what you choose to place value on. The diamond that you know, may not be a diamond to another eye. And all of that effort to acquire it may only have satisfaction to you, at the expense of other opportunities that you may have been able to offer to those you love.

Getting our priorities in the right order is balance, and balance is the key to true riches that are not governed by demand or the whims of those already in places of wealth and power.

The human tends to want to be a little better than his neighbor. To have something that sets him apart. To be different than the norm.

And yet, when the opportunity comes to really become different, to evolve, the human clings to his humanity like it is the greatest of all wealth. Even though he can see it buried as dust in the ground all around him.

Are you able to really answer this question? "What is this attachment to temporary self identity, that one would actually deny the evolution of the true self?"

Remember this the next time you stand at that jewelers counter deciding whether to buy the diamond or the zirconian. Who are you REALLY trying to impress, or deceive?

Are you part of the system/problem, or are you evolving into higher being and solution?