Value ~ Intrinsic Worth by Thought

by SLY on September 2nd, 2011

My symbolic word for the month of September is VALUE.

This particular word & concept keeps finding its way into everything that I am reading, studying, writing and reflecting on. I have been articulating my personal growth, designing my lifestyle, & developing what I want to offer to the world and I notice that one of the first step towards understanding these things began at my personal values.

After a few exercises, its fairly easy to compile a list of your values. For many they fall into categories like Love, Creativity, Family, Security, and the list could go on and on. I do not believe morality comes into play here. There is no good or bad value. It means nothing that one may value money and another may value beauty. It is what it is. We need people all over the world to value a variety of attributes, concepts and philosophies.

What I wonder about though, is the concept of ideal values versus realistic values. I have articulated my own list of values but I wonder if its reflective in my lifestyle. If you were to take a snapshot of my twitter timeline, pick a past post at random on my site, check my past 20 receipts or take a tour of my home, closet or purse, what would you assume my values to be? Would those presumed values based on the energy I put out into the world and the ways I express that energy be in alignment with what I say my supposed values are? I wonder.

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A few [partial] definitions of VALUE that resonate with me.

1. relative worth, merit or importance

2.the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things for which it can be exchanged or in terms of some medium of exchange

3.to regard or esteem highly

4.the quality of anything which renders it desirable or useful

A few words come to mind when musing on VALUE.

INVEST. PRICE. IMPORTANCE. MEANING. SIGNIFICANCE. ENERGY. TIME.

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In my own continued efforts to live a truly authentic lifestyle, it is important that I understand what I truly value and that it is reflected in all aspects of Sheena. What do you value? Really. I’m not interested in what you think you should value or what you’ve been told to value but what do you really value? Look at your bank account. What do you give your monetary energy to? Look at your expression via social media. What do you put out into the world? What do your every utterance say about what is important to you? How do you spend your time? What thoughts spin through your wonderful mind? Who do you allow into your life? All these things truly reflect what you value. If you find after deep reflection that what’s been of value in your life isn’t what you want to value, how are you going to go about changing it?

These are things I wonder about and plan on exploring.

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QUOTES

The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self. ~Albert Einstein

It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. ~ Roy Disney

You will be as much value to others as you have been to yourself. ~ Marcus T. Cicer

If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all. ~ Barak Obama

Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them. ~ Stephen Covey

SLY’s 2011 Symbolic Words

January Refine ~ A Process for Purification

February Movement ~ A Journey towards Center

March Imagine ~ Child Play for Adult Work