Everyone has value.
The trick is to take the time to discover it.
Perhaps you recall the musical “The King and I.” One of my favorite songs from that Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is “Getting to Know You,” with lyrics about “getting to know you, getting to know all about you …”
Sometimes we forget the fine art of getting to know others. Of valuing someone else enough to discover who they are. What they like. What they dislike. What they know that we don’t know … we miss the joy of discovering who someone else is and how it enriches our lives so much more than talking on and on and on about ourselves.
Let me stop talking here and share a video with you that reminded me in such an eloquent way how everyone has value.
Yes, we all know something that someone else doesn’t know … and we should take the time to value others.
But it’s also good to remember that everyone has value no matter what they do or do not know.
In Your Words: Tell me something fun that you know — I’d love to hear that today! And also, who in your life helps remind you that you are valuable?
The More of Getting to Know You http://bit.ly/2BhRfvc #quote #validation Click To Tweet 'Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't.' Quote by Bill Nye the Science Guy http://bit.ly/2BhRfvc #value #perspective Click To Tweet
Comments 12
Beth, wow. This is GREAT, and the video is so moving.
What people see when they look at me – including Barbara – can best be summarized by these line’s from Byron’s’Don Juan’:
He was the mildest manner’d man
That ever scuttled ship or cut a throat
Barb has said that there is a core of ruthlessness in me that’s terrifying, that given a mission I would do everything necessary – EVERYTHING – to carry it out.
But dogs see something else; strays run to me, and the most vicious curs will curl up in my arms, knowing that they’ve found safety at last.
I don’t know how to explain any of this; nature and training made me a thing that can only skirt the edges of polite society, but the lost and rejected find comfort in my company?
Andrew,
Although I only know know you from your comments and writings, may I offer an opinion? As a dog-lover and someone who’s studied dogs all my life, I think they come to you because they recognize the common qualities of intense loyalty and sacrificial love that you share but I think they also somehow sense the wounds as a result of those traits.
I can only imagine what it took to obey commands that went against your very nature even though you knew those actions would — and did — leave scars on your body and soul. However, doing so made you the protector and guardian of every American man, woman, and child that lived then and indeed will live in the future. They also recognize that every effective warrior must have a certain level of ruthlessness.
For all that you’ve done, especially since you still feel the severe effects of those actions: I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Angie, I’m so grateful for these compassionate, grace-giving words! These guys who gather around me as I write, tails wagging, barking…they have my whole heart.
I believe you’re right that they do see the scars. My Chief Service Dog, a Red Heeler named Ladron, arrived at the age of six weeks, and knew even then to wake me from nightmares. She still does.
Again, please accept my heartfelt thanks. Your words arrived on a morning that’s physically dreadful, and darkly discouraging…and have brought light.
Amen, Angie. Andrew, thank you for your service, for your courage, for keep on keeping one in the face of pain. You are one of a kind.
Pat, thank YOU, from the bottom of my heart.
You’re very welcome. I’m so glad to lighten your burden just a little bit.
Well, that’s twice in one week you did it, Beth. You made me cry. I saw this video over the summer, and it moved me so deeply. Watching it again today just touched my heart. Again. Thank you for sharing it.
Who helps me remember that I am valuable? My husband, sometimes my teenaged boys, and close friends. And especially my Father.
Beautiful post, friend.
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Jeanne: This is such a powerful video overflowing with so much truth. I hadn’t seen it until Monday and it stayed with me all day, rewatching it several times with my family.
Frozen custard was “invented” when George Washington’s cook set a pan of baked custard on the back stoop in snow to cool and forgot it. It was such a hit that they cooled lots of pans of custard on the back stoop.
Delores, apropos nothing, your comment on custard reminded me of a limerick:
The bustard’s an exquisite fowl,
with scarcely a reason to howl.
It escapes what would be
illegitimacy
by the grace of a fortunate vowel.
Oops, I meant to also respond to what makes me feel valuable. I just had another phone call with my son Andrew’s kids who I will see a month from today. Grandson Rocco, barely 13, is way taller than I but he led the way on the phone telling me how much he loved me 3 or 4 times as we ended our conversation. Words are so powerful and I am so thankful for relationships like that that grow stronger even when apart. I certainly know he feels loved, too. Riches kind of boil down to wonderful non-taxable positives like that.
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Dee: I knew there was a lesson somewhere in the baked custard analogy. 🙂 And yes, I’ve learned that long distance relationships can be filled to overflowing with value and validation and love. I’m thankful for both up-close and long-distance friends and friends-who-are-family.