"A piece of bread and 2 pennies for your thoughts"

This one came about over lunch one day with a group of friends. One friend in particular was daydreaming it seems, so another friend inquired. We were having bread , hence that's how it made its way into the quote. =)

When was the last time you offered anything for someone's thoughts? Usually you don't, right? Don't people, especially women, just say "What are you thinking?". My thoughts regarding that question when someone asks me is that it's probably none of the person's business. I mean, they're my thoughts afterall and for that time being I'd like to keep them where they are...in my head! People who know me know that I have a lot to say about a lot of things. So I do not hesitate to verbalize what I think when I want to. And when I don't say anything, it either means I'm still thinking, or just don't want to share . However! If someone were to offer me a piece of bread and 2 pennies...or makes me an offer I couldn't refuse...I may reconsider.

So this brings me to this question. Have you ever lied when a person asks you what you're thinking? You could be thinking about last night's scores at the game, or if wheather or not you picked up your dry cleaning...and so on and so forth...but yet I believe people do try to push those thoughts of the their mind when the question is asked. They'll try to come up with something clever that would be more fitting to the situation. Now granted, I'm not saying everyone does this all the time.I'm just wondering how many people actually do it. Because I'm sure there are genuine moments when you are thinking about something that is very fitting to the situation.

I have done both. I would like to believe I"m above it, but I'm not. I'm just as guilty as the next s.o.b in line. =P

Now that I think about it, I rarely , if ever, ask people what they're thinking. There are 3 reasons why this happens: 1) The person would tell me anyway; 2) I don't care or 3) I already know what they're thinking. =D

I have just thought of another thing...would you ever pay for someone's thoughts? I think the general consensus would be no. But when you think about it ...we do pay for people's thoughts. All the time, every day, for some people. We pay for the cable TV that we get (FoxNews,CNN, Jim Cramer..), magazines, newspapers, and books. Now if we want to get even more specific, people and companies hire consultants to tell them how they should run their business, finance, household, wardrobe, you name it! They're all out there! And I can bet you a loaf of bread and 3 pennies that those things don't cost a piece of bread and 2 pennies. But yet, people pay for it, often times without a second thought. So does that mean when someone asks you "What are you thinking" without offering any compensation, that your thoughts aren't worth much? Or perhaps your thoughts are priceless and so therefore to make an offer of any sort would be an insult...at least I, for one, would like to think my thoughts are priceless.

(With that said, I'm still curious to know how much my thoughts would be worth on the market. lol)