The value of words...

What is the value of your word? At what price do you forgo your self-respect? Can you stand strong when the way out is ever so easy?

Though the reason for this posting might be seemingly trivial, it provides the bed-rock for assessing the integrity of an individual - the value of their words.

I had a wager with a colleague about an important event at office. I was confident of victory as my web was spread far and wide and I was aware of the decision before it was even contemplated by others.

My colleague on the other hand, was swimming in the deep-end with a perspective which was mired in opinion. She was so convinced that she bet a significant amount on that opinion. In the end, I won.

Now comes the interesting part. I offered her a way out - say one sentence. That sentence merely required her to state how I'm right, as always. Though the sentence was irritating, it would have helped her avoid the payment. Considering how her views typically irritate me, I fully expected her to grab on to the life-line I had thrown her. She flat-out refused.

People are strange. I don't get them at all. Just when you expect sand, you come across a mountain. It got me thinking about my price-tag. I'm fairly confident about who I am. I have faced, and continue to face, a never-ending barrage of criticism for every single step I take and I weather it without regret. To the point that arrogance has become my calling card, and I walk tall in the delusion that I have no price. But here, I offer a way out, and in my opinion a simple way out. And yet, there are no takers.

This is the kind of randomness which reaffirms my faith in the human race. No matter how rare, you still see people who value their words to almost illogical levels. Words are powerful. They grant you control, they shower you with fame, they make you infamous, they reward you with audience and yet there are so few who really understand the sharp edge of the weapon they wield.