What's the Use of a Penny?

We are given a penny's worth of advise. We save a penny every time we buy something that has a $.99 at the end of it. We also think of a penny as what we leave on the street. Yet, do we know the value of a penny? Let us think of this as a metaphor for the arts. When watching a movie or a play the first minute and last minute is the most valuable, yet those are only two minutes of the movie, or two cents of it. So, why are they so important? The same reason why the first and last sound of a song or the first and last word of a poem or a novel are important. Or, even the first and last stroke of a picture. They're important because they are not only the bookends to the experience, but the first and last impression. Like a road trip. The first moments are excitement and ambition and the last moments are thoughts and memories of the trip. These are valuable because they set up what is to come and what we take away from the experience. Like a penny, it seems like nothing important, but if that one penny was the only money left in the world everyone would be fighting for it. Yet, they don't because they always think there will always be more chances. The moments don't come again. Prepare for what is to come, experience the moments and embrace the experience. That will make it important not only to you but to everyone who was a part of the experience. From the entrance to the exit we are always a part of the moment. So, take two pennies, keep them somewhere special and think about the importance of those two coins and how they are the beginning and the end. For all things, especially creative activities, begin with an idea and end with a thought.

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Adam C. Sharp, Copyright 2023