The capacity to have souls feel their worth exists in every aspect of our lives, both in larger, universal ways and in the smallest of units.

Six years ago, my family was met with the unimaginable when we lost my nephew suddenly and under horrific and tragic circumstances. Though healing has come for us, in different ways and shades, nothing could have prepared us for the intensity of the experience at that time.

The pain was so profound that we rose to heights we didn’t know we could reach, as we showed up for one another, with the purest of hearts.

Sometime after, when we were solid enough to regain our footing in the world, I can recall moments when I would look back on that time and feel a sense of longing for who we became. Though I am now able to frame it in a way that makes sense, before, I couldn’t quite understand what I was feeling.

How could there be a longing for anything associated with such a monumental and devastating loss? What good was I actually detecting?

Later, I came to realize that the longing was for the keen sense of love and caring that followed the loss. We were so present for one another. We anticipated each other’s needs. We checked in regularly. We exhibited an active and unquestionable love for one another.

That’s what my heart continued to yearn for. The intensity of that kind of love.

This lucidity and clarity has come, in part, by witnessing this phenomenon in other ways.

There’s an exercise that I do in one of my trainings where, after listing the many negative results of 9/11, we then take a look at the good that resulted. Inevitably, the first thing that’s usually highlighted and delivered with great passion is… “We, as a nation, came together.” And even in the discussion, one can sense a profound feeling of longing.

There were no conversations about which political party you belonged to. It didn’t matter what part of the country you were from. The majority of Americans just flooded each other with love. We held one another up. We looked beyond our differences and cared for one another with an intensity that most of us had never experienced in that way before.

Unpacking these moments…

This keen focus of presence and appreciation is also the foundation upon which the spirit of Christmas rests. It’s the one time of year when there is generally a universal spirit of goodwill covering the planet. And it’s intensified by other religious and cultural traditions recognized during this time as well, including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

We give more freely. We are a bit more mindful of one another. We love more purely.

The goal is to make sure that others understand their value through our expressions and our offerings of our hearts, our presence and our gifts.

The goal is to make sure that another soul feels its worth.

This juxtaposition between 9/11 and Christmas is significant. The contrast helps us to know that the power to create opportunities for more souls to feel love and to feel their value is always with us.  The question is are we using it? We don’t have to wait for the tragedy to rise. As Christmas shows us, we can rise by conscious choice any time that we’d like.

Applications Everywhere…

When I teach the Owning Change Model for Transformation, we unpack the value of characteristics such as vulnerability, authenticity, humility… and grace. The course carries a soft, reflective tone, not a whole lot of hoopla. And yet, I can always tell that the majority of the room is with me. They are active, engaged, intrigued. There is a resonance, an identification, at a soul level, that truth is being delivered.

The soul is recognizing its worth.

Too many workplaces are devoid of this feeling of recognition and resonance. That I matter. That the whole of me is seen and valued. And when we expose employees to anything that awakens the inner man, it sparks that sense of knowing and they momentarily feel a sense of alignment. And it feels good. It feels safe.

Yes, the capacity to have souls feel their worth exists in every aspect of our lives, both in larger, universal ways and in the smallest of units, as in what I shared about my family.

And ICYMI, presence and appreciation are the things that get us there.

When we fully bear witness to the heart of another. When we allow others to show up as they are, honoring their humanity without condition. When we are intentional and focused in our efforts to bathe others with an active love that seeks creative ways to express itself. Then, the soul feels its worth.

And in a world where we’ve been conditioned to believe that we have to prove our value, sacrifice ourselves to even be noticed, or worse… that we are sinful and impure by nature, then the extension of ourselves in this way counters this negativity and lands as the gift that it is.

So yes, let’s make sure that more souls feel their worth, more often… every day and in every way, just because we made the choice. No tragedy or holiday needed.

Be a friend to the lonely. Look for the good in another. Share your time, attention and praise with someone. Love freely and without condition.

When we do this, with enough consistency and focus, then surely, the same powerful spirit that carries Christmas will be our reality 365 days a year.

Much love,

Monica

“Christmas, my child, is love in action.  Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.”

—-Dale Evans Rogers