Digging Down

One of the most meaningful lessons I learned during my time in pharmaceutical sales training (both as student and as instructor/facilitator) was that the VALUE of something lies not in the thing itself, but rather in the result of engaging it. Simply stated, “the value of a one quarter inch drill lies not in the drill itself, but in the HOLE you get”. Think about it! The value of so many tools we learn, possess, create, and store (the mechanical ones and the intellectual/thought -process ones, among others) lies not in the function itself but in the “result” we desire from using that tool. When we learn to use tools that render what we desire (value), we tend to place them in an “as needed” storage bin and think little of those tools utilized in the process of obtaining the value we seek. Here are some examples of tools the are used in rendering value: Flour from ground wheat into a white powder when used with a few other tools renders value in the bread (in various forms) we get (and many other possibilities such as pie shell, gravy, etc.). Fresh water, a tool used in generating much value; quenching thirst, fruits and vegetables, and so many more we can hardly count, is one we so often take for granted. When we, while living out our lives, begin to see some (or many) of the things we value start to diminish, we begin to look for what may be missing or limiting our “value” expectation. The virus pandemic we have been living in has presented multiple opportunities to experience the loss of things of value we have grown to expect in our every day lives. Probably of greatest value to many of us is the social gatherings. To many of us, the value of limiting participation in those gatherings until we are inoculated and aware of the same for others therein is greater than the hugging warm gatherings of even small crowds valued dearly in the past. Rarely, if ever, did those of the past carry the very real threat of death. Giving thanks for the virologic learning and application of the same to produce tools that bring the value of continued life into our presence delivers with every prayer of thanks, the hope of tomorrow’s opportunities. Discovering tools that help us process the true value of our lives helps take us closer to the place where we can even uncover value we had never recognized before!  “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God…” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV