In preschool and in life, the value is in the process. |
When my daughter started preschool, her teacher reminded parents nearly every day, "Process, not product" with regard to art projects. So, she brought home messy, random, child-created art, rather than in-the-lines colored rainbows or perfectly glued collages. The preschool teacher explained that each art project was a lesson that built fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, social skills and much, much more. The process developed the child, the creation was simply a by-product. It really didn't matter what the child created. What mattered was that she created something and everything was worthy of refrigerator acclaim because it represented her authentic effort.
Recently, while reading Brene Brown's book, Daring Greatly, the process-not-product mantra returned to my consciousness. In her book, she explains that we've become a culture that attaches our self worth to the things we produce: the perfectly written email, the flawlessly composed photograph, or an A-student child. Brown continues to explain that when someone disagrees with the email, our photo only gets 2 likes on Facebook or the perfect child struggles, our self worth suffers. We think we are unworthy of love, that we failed as an employee, an artist, a parent, a person. We give up, hide or place blame for the failure. This chapter stopped me cold. I thought about it for days. I realized I do that! And I wondered, how do I stop? How do I own my self worth again? How do I continue to feel valued and loved, even when I fail?
Process, Not Product!!
While meditating on this concept, I pictured myself as a small child who had never written an email, composed a photo or parented daughters. That small child was loved just because she was born. Even though I've grown up, I'm still loved just because I'm here, living, loving and expressing in this world. Recognizing that is an act of self love.
Are you loving yourself just because you showed up today? Can you let go of your attachment to the things you produce and simply find value and worth in the process? Can you say, "My Being is much bigger than anything I produce?" Join the conversation in the comments!
The bringing together of like-minded Beings is the "production" of being detached from the product. The more we detach from the "shoulds", the more we are open to Spirit. It's been a blast watching Spirit move us when we decide to detach.
ReplyDeleteYes, September, it has! And Spirit has created one powerhouse of a blog!!
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