"For where your treasure is, there
will be your heart also."
Matthew 6:21

In the movie The Matrix, the leader known as Morpheus finally finds his protege, Neo, and speaks of something he's been searching for his whole life. Morpheus likens it to having "a splinter in your mind," meaning that no matter how you try to ignore it, it just won't go away. It's there, ever present, calling for your attention, nagging at you, until you give it the attention that it's due. Until you seek it out.

Our own unique gifts and higher purpose act in this way, too. If ignored, they nudge, distract, disquiet, disrupt, and call to us, if often (though not always) very quietly. But we know they're there, wanting to be acknowledged and explored, and wanting to be put to good use.

There have been a couple of things these past few weeks that called to my attention, and in looking at them, I noticed a theme: that many of us don't fully value the unique experience, perspectives, and gifts we have within us; and perhaps in a related way, whether subtly or more overtly, we can't truly value others if we don't value ourselves. The ability to truly value starts within, at the heart or center of our being.

Oh, we're all used to making resumes or lists of traits that we think others will be impressed by and, we think, appreciate or value. Almost always, these traits have to do with specific external status symbols, money (or money making ability), or "marketable skills." In approaching "value" and "worth" in this partial manner, we leave a lot out, and may even miss altogether the truest and most valuable of our potential offerings.

A good number of people would say that they don't have the time to reflect on their treasures or true value - the ways in which they're truly unique and qualified, based on a set of experiences and perspectives that are truly their own. Yet, in truth, it doesn't take a huge amount of time, and we all have the same amounts of that. It comes down to a choice of wanting to value one's self and others, and wanting to save time and anguish later by identifying one's unique value now.

There are many ways we can explore the purpose and "valuable treasure" that resides in and gently nudges us towards the greatest application or use of it. Imagery, journaling, dialogue, coaching, reading, prayer, contemplation, meditation, "living into the question" ... these are just a few of the tools or ways available to us.

Ultimately, when we commit to digging for the treasures that are ours to offer (and expand upon), we connect with the truest and most inexhaustible source of joy and motivation ... a source that isn't dependent on external approval (which is fickle at best). In tapping into that joy, we feel joyful, work joyfully, and ripple outward in a way that awakens joy in others.

Reflection or Play Questions:

• What unrecognized or rarely used treasures reside within me?

• What questions or resources can help me "live into my treasures and joy"?

Hungry for more brain foods? Visit the Brain Food Buffet