Weekly Photo Challenge: Treasure

Define the word Treasure. Go ahead. Take your time. There’s no hurry. I’m fairly certain that whatever definition you come up with, the notion of “value” plays a large role. This is where things get tricky. Why? Value is a very abstract concept, and treasure could be considered to be a tangible example of value. Find a suitcase with a million dollars in it, and you might think you’ve struck it rich (or might possibly be hunted down by surly types). But, it’s just a box with a bunch of paper in it, no? What makes the paper worth something is the value that not only you, but others, believe it to have.

Still, a treasure need not be valuable in the eyes of many in order to be considered a treasure. Sometimes, it’s the value that one person puts into “something” that most would consider useless. Sometimes that “something” isn’t even a tangible thing. The mask above isn’t treasure because of its physical attributes. Nobody asked to have it made. Nobody influenced the process. The person who made it did so just for the sake of making it. Their expectations where not of reward or praise. They made it because they thought it was worth the time and effort to do so. That mindset has value. The expression of that mindset makes the mask a treasure, but only to those who know the person and that person’s reasoning.