Posts Tagged ‘Priceless’
Loving Our Worth—Priceless
Monday, April 5th, 2010
Every now and again we question our worth—our value. We spend time thinking about our own value and our value in relationships. I recently had an experience where I allowed thoughts about my value with a friend get in the way of my friendship. I convinced myself that my friend was moving on to bigger and better things in her life, building her business, and on the path to finding her soul mate. I translated this to mean she no longer “needed” me and I doubted my value in her life. I questioned our friendship and in doing so devalued both of us.
I allowed my fear to get in the way of our friendship. It’s like the story of the fifty-dollar bill. A workshop speaker stands at the front of a seminar and holds up a fifty-dollar bill. He asks the audience who would like the fifty-dollar bill. Almost all the hands go up. He lets them know he will give it to one of them, but first takes the bill and begins to crumple it into a ball. He asks the audience again, “Who wants this bill?” Many people still raise their hands. Next, he takes the bill and places it on the floor and grinds his shoe into it.
“Now who wants the bill?” the speaker asks. People still raise their hand. He smiles and tells the audience that just because he crumpled up the money and stepped all over it, it did not decrease the value—it’s still worth fifty dollars.
Many times, we feel like that crumpled bill. We make mistakes, we say things that can be hurtful, make poor decisions, and allow ourselves to feel unworthy. The reality is that no matter how crumpled, stepped on, or out of sorts we may feel, we always keep our full value—that which is love.
Love is about reciprocity. Love doesn’t worry about being liked and having approval. Love exists within our inabilities, imperfections, and faults—and our value never decreases. Relationships built on wanting to be liked will waiver; relationships built on loving our worth and the worth of each person we meet—priceless.
Peace, Mary Anne
Dedicated to Rev. Joyce Meyer for reminding me of my value & letting go.