The desire to feel appreciated is natural. But in the quest to garner recognition from others we can develop an overly outward-looking approach to life and forget this important truth: Our experience and how we feel about it has little to do with anything on the outside and everything to do with how we feel about ourselves. No matter what we accomplish, if we don’t recognize our inherent value, we’ll never feel we’ve done enough. When we acknowledge that we’re worthy just as we are, the desire to get attention turns into the desire…
To give it.
Jarl and Steve
This is fine advice and solace. I am still a recovering addict, so I still have the habituated reaction to “inherent value”, namely “what?” But I am steadily applying my consciousness to recognizing that it’s surely true. I am so characteristic of this society, looking in the wrong place for love! Right now I can see my value, so all I have to do is string this ‘right now’ together with the adjacent ones to form a continuum. The tool for that is breathing. It is getting better.
Love, Larry
Right on! Larry. Your value is very apparent to us. You are a wonderful human being. 🙂