Do You Still Love Me?

Our value is never what people think of us for others’ thoughts are none of our business. Discovering our true value is knowing who we are in silence. That’s where you find your true self. It’s why many folks cannot sit in silence and be alone. Fear rises they may discover they need work and help. And that’s just too much for some.

I was busy multi-tasking the other night. The television was on but I wasn’t listening to some guy interviewing another guy. That’s how much I was paying attention. Until the guy being interviewed said something that made me drop everything I was doing to listen.

He said I was pitching for an MLB team and we were getting ready for the Wild Card games. My coach called me over and told me that he wasn’t going to need me to pitch. He was just supposed to go home and watch his team on television.

It’s here I got teary-eyed and had a heart that was full of compassion for this guy. He said he called his dad and told his dad that he wouldn’t be pitching and then he asked his dad “Do you still love me?” He said as a child he built his value on pitching. His dad would tell him to practice pitching and not talk to his mom or siblings. He needed to keep practicing. So pitching became more important than talking to his mother.

He continued to say that was his wake-up call. That one incident woke him up to his value and it was not what his fans thought of him. He started searching for his authentic self and his true value.

He did pitch again in the World Series. He also found his spiritual path and what he truly loved doing that fulfilled him and that was producing music. His name is Barry Zito, and the team was San Francisco Giants.

I resonated with his story in so many ways. Parents that show love through “approved actions” to a child are building that child to feel and believe their value is based only on the action. After 18 years of conditioning, the adult continues to believe that is who they are and that’s their worth. It’s why so many are walking around and don’t know who they are because they are their dad, their mother, not their true authentic self.

Great news! It’s never too late to find your true authentic self. Your true value is based on self-love. Not the love of your customers, fans, family, or friends. Never let someone place a price tag on you. You are not a garage sale piece, you are a diamond and your value just keeps increasing as you shine brighter and become clearer.