One of my all time favorite songs is “Karma Police” by Radiohead. There is a lyric that says, “For a minute there, I lost myself. I lost myself.” It has happened in my life where I look back in hindsight and do not recognize the person that I was. It seems as though I lost myself. What I really lost were my core values.
Sitting in a quiet space with a notebook and pen, I found what my true values were. Thoughts that came up during this time were ones that angered me, thoughts of bliss, and unfulfilled dreams arose. All of those combined formed a spiderweb of descriptions of who I am as a person. Those were my values by which I wanted to live.
Dissecting each one of these values brings thoughtful awareness to what truly matters to the soul. Choosing one word to represent each value, balances and unbalances present themselves. It is easy to see, on paper, who you truly are and somewhat shocking, in my case, to see the unbalances. It may come as a surprise that one aspect of your life you thought was full and thriving is essentially not in comparison to the rest of your core values.
Integrity. Family. Courage. Accomplishment. Solitude. Personal Growth. Sentiment. Uniqueness. Humility. Self Respect. Humor. Love. Kindness. Nature. These are the list I came up with for myself as an idea of what sort of descriptions come up during the thought process.
Everyone deserves to live a full and vibrant life and it is easier to do that when you know what you want out of this one life that we are given.
