{"id":1759,"date":"2014-01-12T19:42:20","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T00:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/?p=1759"},"modified":"2014-01-12T19:42:20","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T00:42:20","slug":"to-prove-or-add-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/2014\/01\/12\/to-prove-or-add-value\/","title":{"rendered":"To Prove or Add Value"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019m fond of saying I have nothing left to prove only value to add.\u00a0 This week I find myself asking, what the hell does that mean?\u00a0 Do your values determine your life or does your life determine your values?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 At what point in your life are you done trying to prove yourself to anyone other than yourself?\u00a0 When adding value do you discern?\u00a0 Do you need to know the definition of value in order to add it?<\/p>\n

Two things happened this week to make me question if this is the way I should be putting the whole prove vs value thing out there.\u00a0 Someone commented on the blog last week that they too (on their 65th birthday) felt they had much value still to add.\u00a0 Then in an episode of \u201cChopped\u201d a 64 year old woman struggled against the younger chefs to prove she is still capable of adding value.\u00a0 She ultimately won.\u00a0\u00a0 Does that mean you\u2019ll always have something to prove?\u00a0 These two people want to prove to themselves that they have value.<\/p>\n

Should the proving only be to you?\u00a0 Now we\u2019re talking, of course it should.\u00a0 When I think of the long list of things I felt I needed to prove over the course of my life most of them had little to actually do with me.\u00a0\u00a0 As a woman was I capable of the same things men were capable of, of course I was and still am. Could I live up to my husband\u2019s family\u2019s expectations, not really.\u00a0 Did I grab on to that and try to pursue perfection, of course I did.\u00a0 Could I graduate college (in midlife) in order to advance in my career, of course I could.\u00a0 Did it?\u00a0 To a degree.<\/p>\n

There is always something to prove to yourself.\u00a0 At this moment in time I\u2019m trying to prove that I am a creative woman. I\u2019m trying to develop the right side of my brain so that it works on auto pilot, so that it sees things that I\u2019ve always thought it should see.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to prove I\u2019m brave, putting myself and my work out there, whether it\u2019s the work I\u2019m paid for or the work that sustains me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m no longer trying to prove I\u2019m perfect. Perfection has always been imposed on me, like keeping the perfect house.\u00a0 Now, if the bed isn\u2019t made I know like I know the world won\u2019t come to an end.\u00a0 The people that find themselves on Stowe Lane could care less if I make my bed every day.\u00a0 Toto especially loves twirling into the sheets whether they are on the bed or not.<\/p>\n

\"002\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t set the perfect table I just put it all out and people are glad to indulge in the moments I present.\u00a0 I used to live in that world where you had to worry if you died what would people find in your home?\u00a0 What were the books that were supposed to be on the night stand, what food should be in the refrigerator, what would be in the fire safe box.\u00a0 I just bought a fire safe box\u2026by the way.\u00a0 Among the passport, social security card, deed, the insurance info and will are my Father\u2019s navy manual and bible.\u00a0 These are the things that are precious, that add value if you will.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saving the world and my idea of adding value is to show up, to listen, to attempt to stop the spiky haired, skinny jeans bunch from trying to reinvent the wheel all the while staying relevant.\u00a0 To put out a body of work that someone might find interesting or meaningful.<\/p>\n

So what does value really mean:<\/p>\n