Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Auction Open for Bidding, Item: Me

How much are you? Or to put it more tactfully, what's your worth?

This is actually a rather tricky question. How do you decide on a specific amount? Should we have been born with a bar code on our wrists? That would have had been horrendous. In the end, it's not a simple matter of deciding how much you are but of how you even begin to measure your worth. I mean, to most of the people in the world, a person probably wouldn't be worth much. He probably wouldn't even be worth anything. But to the precious few who know him and care for him, possibly even love him, he would be worth a lot- priceless, even. In this sense, worth is subjective.

But, I dare say that worth should be intrinsic. It's something that you should decide on your own. It should depend on how valuable you believe yourself to be. It is about self-worth, self-confidence and self-esteem. And, so worth should be decided through our perspective of ourselves. It goes in the same manner as how we decide how much respect our colleagues should show us, how expensive we allow ourselves to splurge on ourselves, how much love we allow ourselves to accept. We decide our own worth. Or, at least, I believe that we should.

It is sad to say that, for many people, this isn't the case. Often times, it's actually the opposite. We allow others to dictate how much respect we deserve. We allow their opinions of us to influence how we see ourselves. And, I have to admit that I have fallen victim to this scheme many times in the past. It is actually quite embarrassing to remember how many times I've allowed myself to wallow in a pit of self-pity and shame because I had allowed other people to convince me that I was undeserving, that I was beneath them, and essentially that I was worthless.

It's ridiculous how easy it had been for them to make me to believe that I hadn't deserved as much as they had, that I hadn't been worth as much as they were, that I was a being of a lower class. It is worse, even, to think how easy I had made it for them to do these. After all, what kind of an idiot accepts judgment from monsters who know nothing but to feed on others? Who would allows snarky comment from others to shape what he thinks of himself? Who would allow meaningless words of others to get into his mind until he is eaten inside out? An unfortunate person who has yet to realize that his worth is something that is decided by his own love, respect and confidence in his self.

This is a rather difficult concept for me to wrap my head around. And, I have a feeling I haven't quite worded it in a way that would allow universal understanding, partly because this is an issue I was just recently having internal battles with. Nevertheless, it is something I needed to share not just because I needed to reassure myself of my worth but because I want others to start feeling more confident of their own worth.

And, be sure of this. In the moments when you start to doubt your worth, when family and friends have treated you like dirt, may you remember that there will always be someone who will see you as nothing less precious than the most valuable treasure.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Despite the many comforts of human friends and chocolates, it is in His arms that we find warmth, comfort and reassurance that reaches the soul.

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