Thursday, November 12, 2009

Penny For Your Thoughts





Take a good look at those pennies. They might look like two ordinary pennies, but really look at them. Look at the differences, at what each penny has been through.

The penny on the left has obviously been around for quite some time, right? It's helped to pay for ice cream and movies, manicures and prom dresses. It was the most necessary part of grocery store carousel rides and a cup of lemonade from the stand at the end of the driveway. That penny has been held tightly in someone's hand, and tossed high in the air only to be caught again. It's been used to decide who gets which side of the playing field, and to choose which toy to pick at the check out stand. That penny has made a difference between "just enough" and "not quite there".  That penny there on the left? Well, it's seen a lot of life. It's lived a lot of life.

The penny on the right.....now it's just getting started. It's shiny and  new, looking anxiously forward to helping out with breakfast on the way in some morning. That pretty new penny just can't wait to get out there and be counted!To make a difference! To be important! That shiny penny doesn't yet know that despite all outward appearances being almost the same, it just doesn't know as much as the penny on the left.

Oh sure, the faces on both pennies are the same. Mostly, at any rate. I will tell you, though, that you'll have to trust me that the backsides of those pennies are completely different! And the shiny new penny is a bit thinner, too.  But when all is said and done, those pennies are worth the exact same amount.  After all, a penny is just a penny.

That penny on the left? That penny was shiny and brand new the year I was born. The penny on the right? Minted fresh this year. Ol' Left Penny there has survived almost 37 years of life. It's only expected that some of the shine will have worn off.  And that thickness just proves that the older penny is made of something that is strong enough to stand through time. Knowing everything that penny knows now, having experienced everything that penny has experienced, and finally (mostly!) knowing the difference between "not quite there" and "just enough".....

Well, sometimes, a penny ISN'T just a penny. Sometimes its the thing you stumble across in your desk that makes you look back on your life and remember....all over again... just how much, and how richly, you have lived.



PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and She's a moron and can't remember...

8 comments:

TisforTonya said...

love that penny on the left... all (almost)37 years of it.

at 37 I've helped pay for many an ice cream cone myself :)

Cecily R said...

You totally rock my friend. What a great post!!!!

Debbie said...

Excellent post!!!!!

Chris said...

What a great post. At 37, I find myself somewhat less shiny than I used to be, but people keep finding uses for me.

Iqra said...

Lovely thoughts :)

Coupon Codes said...

Awesome, inspirational post! Thanks for writing it.

Unknown said...

Wow ... how beautiful! Oh, the places a penny has been ... or is destined to go. Excellent, thought-provoking post.

free bingo now said...

You have a very deep thoughts. Keep the left penny preserved till you get old, and hopefully you can post it after 40 more years and let's see how your thoughts would be like at that time. :)