My Top 10 Values

I suffer from anxiety, ‘a worry about the future’. So in regards to my parenting efforts of late, I worry how my children are behaving and about who they are becoming. I resigned myself to ‘We can only be who we are and do our best to stay true to our values.’

What are my values and how do I carry them out? I should write them out and put it on the fridge so my children will read it and know what I care about. So I sat and pondered.

Kindness

Kindness would be my ultimate value. To try always to be kind to anyone and everyone, no matter what they look like or what walk of life they come from. You never know what people hold onto when you speak or act. We are constantly affecting others in all sorts of ways, positively and negatively.

Balance

Balance, remember the old yin/yang symbol? Balance our food, work, exercise, play, rest, activity, joy, stillness, expression, fun, sleep, being alone and in company. Balance is essential to our health and happiness.

Faith

To remember that God or Source – whatever you believe, is always with us. We are a part of God, God lives in us, we are never alone. We are all connected by the Universal Energy Field. God, our Angels, our Ancestors and our Guides are always here for us. Have Faith that we are loved and reach out for help when you need it, sit quietly for the answer.

Courage

To know that deep down we have the strength we need to get through anything life throws at us. We are here on a journey to learn our lessons, so feel the fear and do it anyway.

Expression

Expression means being honest with oneself, by journalling, talking to yourself and others about how you truly feel and think. Also being aware of when and how to express yourself is most important. ‘Never speak without thinking first,’ my dear Daddy always said. Some things are also best left unsaid, others still need to learn their lessons on their own. I do struggle with this often as I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings either, it’s all in the delivery, remember your tone Tone my Mumma says.

Joy

It is important to do things in life that bring us joy; art, sport, dance, music. To keep us happy. For if we are not happy, what is our goal? To feel the higher emotions like joy, is the best feeling in life.

Peace

Peace is the other end of the joy spectrum, to know in your heart that you are being the best version of yourself that you can be. Working on ourselves by journaling for example, we can explore our darker sides openly with no judgement, to help resolve our dark feelings of hurt, anger, jealousy, fear and sadness. When our darker feelings are resolved we will harbor no hard feelings in our hearts for anyone, ourselves, our family or our friends. This peace gives us true comfort in the dark hours of our lives.

Forgiveness

When we forgive, we are letting go of anger and hate, we release ourselves of those negative feelings that eat away at us. We only have to put ourselves in other people’s shoes to try and understand where they are coming from and why they do what they do. To hold onto feelings of anger will only make you suffer and no one else. To let go of them we allow our energy to flow, to feel lighter and happier.

Thoughts

As psychology and science has taught us, our thoughts create impact. We need to recognise, acknowledge and accept our thought patterns. We have been raised by our family and society to think a certain way and we have watched those around us. Now it is time to think for yourself. Stop. Be Still. See. We need to stop our fearful thoughts and out of date perceptions from leading our lives for us and instead focus on stillness. We will learn to see with our hearts what is truly going on. Be mindful and meditate.

Connectedness

As Quantum Physics teaches, we are all energy; animals, plants and the earth herself. We are all connected by the Universal Energy Field. We are never alone, we all affect each other. So work on yourself so we make a positive effect in this beautiful world of ours. We are one family.

As for my parenting efforts, I can simplify my values to, ‘Open your mind and see with your heart child’, for now that will do. As they grow older and understand more will they listen, yes a little, but they really only do what I do, so I must work on myself and show them how to be.