Thought for the day: What is Worth worth? (thanks to Piccsy for this springboard to today’s thought)
The idea of someone’s or something’s worth is a complicated and often frustrating endeavor. With the world economy now showing the true picture of worth…where the worthless is being cherished while the worthy is resoundingly dismissed…life is being turned on its head. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this lately simply because of a few incidents which are impacting my own personal sphere, one positive and the other not so much.
A quarry no more: Where I live, there has been a very long battle about a small area of land that is being fought over by opposing viewpoints. Thankfully, the Liberty Quarry is no more and the citizenry of Temecula have an Indian tribe to thank for this momentous gift. The Pechanga Indians have long believed that the mountain site near Rainbow is a sacred land to them and have lived on this land to protect it. Unfortunately, others saw a different kind of worth that would have destroyed the fragile beauty that is rapidly disappearing everywhere else because of rampant building and tearing apart. What will it take for people to see the same worth, even when they’re looking at it from different perspectives? We’re going to have to figure this out, because our planet can’t take much more of the destruction we’re blithely imparting. Fortunately, there are still people who understand the meaning of co-existence. We have a lot to learn from them! And we need to thank them for the reminder that the world is much bigger than us.
Personal worth: Working for someone else forces this thought upon you constantly. But not because you want to consider it. No, it’s because of the perpetual spotlight on the fiscal bottom line. We live in a world that is infatuated with tags. Tags that denote a worth on a tiny little price tag. There’s no description…just a number. And that number puts an image in your own mind of your personal worth. It doesn’t matter that you’ve worked hard over the years to learn as much as possible to become an expert in what you’re good at. What you consider good won’t be viewed through the same lenses. The trick is to keep reminding yourself of all that you’re capable of. No matter how small the ability, it’s YOUR ability. Don’t let anyone take that away from you. Don’t let anyone tell you that your skills need to be justified so that you will be kept around. Plan for the rainy day when you will be let loose. It won’t be as devastating as you think, if you plan ahead. Plan your entire life so that you can use your skills to build a dream that will allow for your livelihood. Sometimes, worth isn’t about dollar and cents (or pounds, or euros, or any other monetary standard). It’s about being able to be proud of what you’re doing and turning it into something that just might change the world around you. Look deep, dream vividly, and build constantly.
WORTH…it’s a tricky subject that will get you down if you take another’s perspective to heart. Be comfortable building your worth as you see it, because you’re the one who has to live with the consequences of all of your actions. Your worth doesn’t have to be full of numbers. It can also be full of accomplishments, big or small. That’s what your life is all about, after all. Why not do something that fills you on the inside, so that you can share it on the outside? The rest will fall into place, even if it takes time. Patience. And remember that failures are simply opportunities in disguise. (No, I didn’t get that from a fortune cookie).
And if you’re still hurting from another’s opinion of your worth… (thanks again Piccsy)
