Cassan Said Amer tells the story of a lecturer who began a seminar by holding up a twenty-dollar bill and asking: "Who would like this twenty-dollar bill?"
Several hands went up but the lecturer said: "Before I give it to you, I have to do something."
He screwed it up into a ball and said: "Who still wants this bill?"
The hands went up again.
"What if I do this to it?"
He threw the crumpled bill at the wall, dropped it to the floor, insulted it, trampled on it, and once more showed them the bill - now all creased and dirty. He repeated the question, and the hands stayed up.
"Never forget this scene," he said. "It doesn't matter what I do to this money, it is still a twenty-dollar bill. So often in our lives, we are crumpled, trampled, ill-treated, insulted, and yet, despite all that, we are still worth the same."
Several hands went up but the lecturer said: "Before I give it to you, I have to do something."
He screwed it up into a ball and said: "Who still wants this bill?"
The hands went up again.
"What if I do this to it?"
He threw the crumpled bill at the wall, dropped it to the floor, insulted it, trampled on it, and once more showed them the bill - now all creased and dirty. He repeated the question, and the hands stayed up.
"Never forget this scene," he said. "It doesn't matter what I do to this money, it is still a twenty-dollar bill. So often in our lives, we are crumpled, trampled, ill-treated, insulted, and yet, despite all that, we are still worth the same."
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