Free no more
We don't appreciate things that are free.
We appreciate things we have to work for, things that are expensive; we appreciate things that are of limited quantity or for a limited time. Be certain, though, that if we find something that is free, we automatically assume that there is something inferior about it--something that makes it not worth the value of a purchase.
Free advice. Free sample. Free time, even. Why else would they give it to us? What are they planning next? What will this free thing encourage me to buy or force me to support out of guilt? There's nothing free in this world; everything exists due to some expense of energy.
So it should come as no surprise that our house and its accouterments, which we offered to my sister (mentioned earlier), have come under such neglect and disregard. It was, of course, free: assigning to it all of the aforementioned catches and stipulations. There would be no reason for her to assign a value to it unless it was one given in guilt or upon conversion. And she'd be right; there always is some cost attached.
We appreciate things we have to work for, things that are expensive; we appreciate things that are of limited quantity or for a limited time. Be certain, though, that if we find something that is free, we automatically assume that there is something inferior about it--something that makes it not worth the value of a purchase.
Free advice. Free sample. Free time, even. Why else would they give it to us? What are they planning next? What will this free thing encourage me to buy or force me to support out of guilt? There's nothing free in this world; everything exists due to some expense of energy.
So it should come as no surprise that our house and its accouterments, which we offered to my sister (mentioned earlier), have come under such neglect and disregard. It was, of course, free: assigning to it all of the aforementioned catches and stipulations. There would be no reason for her to assign a value to it unless it was one given in guilt or upon conversion. And she'd be right; there always is some cost attached.
The expense that compensates for her free place is paid by my wife and
I. Not really in money, for we had the apartment before she moved in,
but in family preservation. We thought it important to support family,
and hoped to include her in a more intimate family circle. Perhaps, in
retrospect, it was a free trial offer--hoping that she'd buy in to
something greater and of higher value.
But she didn't. And it only goes to show that perhaps we put all our hopes into something that wasn't really a vialble alternative. Perhaps we didn't stimulate and encourage involvement and ownership. We probably didn't foster interaction in an effort to avoid smothering. Plainly put, we failed to effectively plan--and we all know what that effectively is.
Lesson learned. And, probably, a lesson not quickly forgotten. We paid for it, after all.
But she didn't. And it only goes to show that perhaps we put all our hopes into something that wasn't really a vialble alternative. Perhaps we didn't stimulate and encourage involvement and ownership. We probably didn't foster interaction in an effort to avoid smothering. Plainly put, we failed to effectively plan--and we all know what that effectively is.
Lesson learned. And, probably, a lesson not quickly forgotten. We paid for it, after all.