Assessment is a process by which taxing authorities and insurance companies estimate the value of real estate and personal property. Assessors take many factors into consideration when making an estimate and then assign a dollar value, based on their particular training and experience. Since an absolute value cannot be determined, different assessments will be considered valid.
In our everyday lives we are all assessors. We assess everything that happens to us and assign some sort of meaning to it. This meaning, however, cannot be not derived from the circumstance or event itself, but rather from our unconscious, personal and subjective assessment of it, which evolves from our own training and experience as human beings. For this reason, different meanings, ascribed to the same circumstance or event, will be equally valid.
This leads to the logical conclusion that no circumstance or event has any absolute meaning or any “right way” to interpret it. It has only the meaning that is given to it, if any. This conclusion is further reinforced by the fact that these interpretations sometimes change over time, as future life circumstances and events unfold.
The original circumstance or event hasn’t changed, but the meaning often does. What was once thought to be the worst thing that could have happened at one point in life, may turn out to be a blessing in disguise down the road.
Once people come to the realization that life has no intrinsic meaning of its own, they will no longer need to blame or feel victimized by the circumstances and events that occur in their lives.
This realization now gives human beings the opportunity to break free from a lifetime of unconscious, conditioned responses that have been carefully cultivated by society, religion, family and friends. They can now consciously choose for themselves what meaning, if any, they wish to attribute to what happens to them.
In real life, as in real estate, value truly does lie in the eye of the assessor.
Is This So?
There once was a monk who lived the life of a hermit outside a small mountain village. The people in the village revered the monk and felt blessed to have him in their community. A young girl in the village became pregnant and, shockingly, named the monk as the father.
When the parents came to confront the monk with their daughter’s accusation, the monk simply replied, ”Is this so?” When the baby was born, the parents brought the child to the monk and said to him, “Here is your baby. You are responsible. It is your duty to take care of this child.” The monk once again replied, “Is this so?” The monk loved and nurtured the baby and felt blessed every day to have the child in his life.
Several months later, the girl came to her parents and confessed to them that the child’s father was actually her boyfriend. They now wanted to get married and raise their child themselves. The parents went back to the monk and apologized profusely for ever believing such an accusation, to which the monk replied, “Is this so?”
The monk in this story responded the same way each time he interacted with the parents. He didn’t feel offended or resentful for being accused of being the father, and, knowing the truth, felt no compulsion to deny their claim. When the baby was brought to him, he felt no need to reject the baby, but instead chose to love and nurture the child as his own. When the parents came to apologize for their accusation, he felt no urge to make them feel any guilt or dishonor. We, too, can do as the monk did and consciously determine for ourselves how we choose to act or react in any given situation or circumstance in our lives.
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you respond to it that matters.” ~ Epictetus
We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.” ~ The Talmud
“It doesn’t matter what happens to you. What matters is, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to complain and shrink or are you going to step into your greatness?” ~ Robert Tew
Clayton Brown has spent nearly 50 years as a registered pharmacist and student of metaphysics. He has been actively engaged in metaphysical writing for the past five years, as various spiritual personalities and channels continue to shape his spiritual journey. He can be reached at pearlsofperception2025@gmail.com.
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