What we value within in life as important comes and goes and shifts and changes and sometimes shifts and changes back. Major life events might change our focus and make us realize – with crystal clear vision – exactly what is important and meaningful to us.

We absorb that, it becomes part of, even though we might shift focus, over and over again. Our culture encourages is to seek material goods for joy. If we have the right car, or outfit, or place to live or holiday, we’ll feel happy. For women particularly, if we look a certain way, achieve a certain weight or keep up with trends and styles, we’ll be happy.

The media would have us believe those things will even make us feel loved and valued. There is nothing wrong with material goods – they are important to our well-being, but they don’t give us our well-being. Isn’t the joy always fleeting?

We anticipate the ‘thing’, we get the ‘thing’, we enjoy the ‘thing’ but it doesn’t give us lasting joy, even if it gives us pleasure. If we buy into what we’re supposed to want and achieve and look like, we seek to mirror the appearance of others, never really going deeper and getting to know the joy for and of ourselves. It takes courage (and time!) to seek the truth of our own personal why.

What is truth

The truth of what it is we stand for and believe in. It might just be the most worthwhile time we can spend. I can tell you what to do; how to do it; what steps to take; how often to do it, yet to be in total integrity, I have to accept that many people, even following this advice, do not get where they want to be. Then I remember, it is not in the doing that we achieve the finish line. Happiness does not come from the external; or material things we want.

I have found over the years, when I stopped searching outside –  it was here for me always – inside.  It was within me I neglected to connect with. Honestly, it’s easier not to…connecting and knowing oneself is work, the real work and it’s not easy to do.

My wisdom and take away from all this? Make good use of what you have today.

You couldn’t buy a life – even for millions of dollars, but what is in your heart is what’s of true value and you have it, right here, right now. Please, pay attention to that – to you. I believe you’ll experience like I have, the real value is inside you already. It’s there eternally; it’s your soul, your knowing, your being, your-self.