Saturday, January 21, 2012

Keeping it real

 

When I first read this weeks "assignment" the very first word that came to me was RespectEach time that I have thought about what are my five top values, that has been the first to come to mind...

What does Respect mean to me? Its not just about respecting me, or treating me with respect, but its about respecting so much more... life, humanity, the planet, other human beings. If we treated each other with respect so much hate, violence, evil would disappear. Treat others how you would like to be treated.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" Most people will associate that saying with Christianity, but the concept has been around long before Jesus was a boy. To me it encapsulates what respect means.
When I was 19, I made the conscious decision that I wasn't going to live my life in the manner that I had seen and experienced growing up. I didn't know how I was going to live it, just how I wasn't going to. Consequently I went on to invent a personality, and in doing so, denied my authenticity. It took me 13 years, and losing the plot and a stay in a psyche ward to reclaim it.  I won't lose it again. By being authentic I am being true to myself. Its my inner compass and guide. Being authentic means not false or copied, genuine and real. It means embracing the uniqueness that makes me ME - freak flag and all!



Being authentic means being honest. Something I despise is lying and liars. Lying to someone means that its not only them that you are lying to, but to yourself as well. The truth may be disappointing, hurtful, at times even devastating. But at least it is real. Being honest has got me into trouble on more then one occasion. Lying, it is little seeds of deceit that blacken your heart.

Practising gratitude is something that keeps me both authentic, and honest. Even on days when all I feel is grey, with a little bit of seeking, I can find something to be grateful for. I believe in the Law of attraction... If I think it, I'm inviting it into my life. I would rather invite good stuff in, then bad stuff. It helps me to change perspective, to see that even on grey stormy days there is good stuff happening, you just have to peel back the clouds to see it.

Gratitude highlights hope. When Pandora opened the forbidden box and everything flew out, the only thing that remained in the box was hope. I lost hope once. And very nearly lost my life. I never want to lose it again. Practising, and believing in respect, authenticity, honesty and gratitude means I will never lose it again. For me, they perpetuate hope, fan it into being, in all its magnificence,  potential and mystery...

Narrowing down the things that are important to five core values is a difficult exercise. Harder then I originally thought. There are many other things that are important to me - knowledge, family, resilience, joy, laughter to name a few, but essentially what I identified was that the five that spoke to me the loudest ultimately lead to the others. And like any strong house that will withstand anything that is thrown at it, a good foundation is imperative.

10 comments:

  1. Beautiful Vicky - i love the way you write and made this your own. I am with you 100% on authenticity - freak flag and all!

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  2. Go the freak flag, that's all I can say. We need more freak flags in this world.

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  3. Respect was one of my top values too when I first did it. Respect towards ALL people. I would never have thought of that as one of my top values prior to parenthood but have found it becoming more and more important to me recently. In particular, towards children. Strange how our values change and grow! Great post though, authenticity and honesty comes through loud and clear in the way you write anyway so you seem to be doing pretty damn well!

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    1. Thanks Alexandra ... I'm glad that my authenticity and honesty are evident. Sometimes I wonder. So it's nice to be told. X

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  4. Yep, I can completely relate to these values - including the ones that didn't make my top 5. Authenticity is so vital. Sometimes it is tough though, isn't it. I really love the image of having a strong foundation for my house (me). Thanks for this!

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    1. Hi Jen. Was thinking about you this week, and mindfullness.If you like I will email you some links that I have found interesting, and helpful reading.

      Visualisation is key for me. words and images are my love... Hence the house. :)

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  5. I had honesty on my list, too (and it included authenticity in my mind). I've been doing the SYL project privately, not on my blog, but I've really tripped over the mission statement and now I'm falling behind. How are you going with your mission?

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    1. I haven't done it to be honest Tat... it stirred up some 'stuff' for me. emotions connected to my situation, so rather then give myself a hard time about it, I decided that I wouldn't do this one... for now.

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