Breathing life into your values

Last week we talked about ‘matching your value barometer’ and you were given an exercise with which to identify those values you can’t live without and to rate them. So how do you stay true to your values?

As much as I would love to say that I ALWAYS live by my values, I would not be truthful. Let’s revisit the values I identified last week and how I rated them as well as see to what degree I adhere to my values.

Family/love/humour/children/get togethers – 6/10
Integrity/respect/honesty/reliability – 9/10
Health/food/exercise/vitality – 8/10

I openly admitted to not being terribly conscientious about spending time with family, even though I profess to valuing them to such a high degree. Rather than beating myself up I now have an opportunity to bring this value to life. Just like last week we streamed words out of each core value, this week we get to stream actions out of the values we would like to bring to life.

Breathing Life Into Your Values Exercise

Look at the values you listed last week and determine which ones you’d like to breathe some life into. Typically it would be the values that scored lowest for you. Even if you scored very high on all your values, there is room to enhance them. Keep in mind that if they are core values for you, then you want to live them to their fullest because when we live in alignment with our values we live at a higher vibrational frequency. We see our world with clarity and purpose.

Family/love/humour/children/get togethers – 6/10

For me ‘family’ is more than just our immediate family of relations. Family also means community and friends. One area I am particularly poor at maintaining is face-to-face contact with those who mean a lot to me. I find other ‘things’ to occupy my time, consequently, relegating family or friend time to a lower priority. As a result, I limit ‘get together’ times, I miss out on moments of love and fellowship, and I limit opportunities to share stories and laugh. Time for a little resuscitation.

List the value(s) that you want to bring to life. Stream out the kinds of actions that would activate that value for you in a way that you comfortably can honour it. Assign some dates or timelines to which you can commit. See my ‘family’ value below and how I have looked at the elements of that term which is important to me and would see me bringing it back to life.

Family
1. Friends/regular phone calls/invitations to dinner/plan a party – June 20th dinner at the cafe planned and make a Canada Day Party for the immediate family to view fireworks.
2. Community/open the Cafe/define what ‘welcoming’ means/create a place for sharing within the cafe/support community events – Ongoing
3. Children/include toys and books in the cafe/make a play date with the grand kids – Done!

When you have completed this exercise think of the following:
1. What will hold you to your commitments?
2. Who can you tell and will hold you accountable?
3. How will you know you are honouring your value(s)?

What are you looking for to be different in your life? That’s a big question that requires a big answer. One that requires some thought and undivided attention. Reviewing your values and then breathing some life into them will help you answer that question. Next week, we’ll look at living with passion.

Low Fat Burgers
(makes 4-8 patties)

This burger is fairly wet and relies on the ground chia seeds to act as a binder and it is also a great source of Omega 3.

In a blender grind up to 1 cup of chia seeds until they are the consistency of flour – put aside.

Chop ingredients finely and place into a mixing bowl.
• 1 cup frozen (defrosted) or fresh corn
• 1 cup frozen (defrosted) or fresh peas
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 green onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 medium red pepper
• 1 small zucchini, grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 handful of finely diced fresh basil
• 2 Tbsp sun-dried tomato powder*
• Cayenne to taste
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup ground chia seeds

Mix in ½ – 1 cup ground chia seeds. Form into patties until they loosely hold together. Dehydrate at 105 degrees on mesh tray for up to 2 hours. Serve on a lettuce leaf and drizzle Dill Gravy on top and serve with a side salad topped with Fresh Basil Garlic Tomato Topping.

* To make sun-dried tomato powder, take sun-dried tomatoes (dry not packaged in oil) and dehydrate until very dry (1-2 days) and then blend until a powder. If they are very dry, you do not need to dehydrate them. Store in a jar in your freezer and use in recipes calling for an enhanced tomato flavour. The powder thickens and richens the flavour of sauces.

Dill Gravy
(makes 2 cups)

Place in blender and blend until smooth.

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 small handful of fresh dill
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• ½ cup hemp hearts

Once it is all blended then add ½ cup hemp hearts and blend until smooth.

Fresh Basil Garlic Tomato Topping
(makes 2-4 cups)

Chop and place in a bowl and mix.
• 2-4 tomatoes
• 1 handful of fresh basil diced finely
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste