Thoughts for this moment in time…

Source: DrawTogether, Wendy MacNaughton

I love this quote on Wendy MacNaughton’s Substack! 

May I suggest taking a minute (or two) to think about it deeply—it’s a big idea with ramifications if you take it to heart. It’s about how we live… our values.

I’m always doing values work with people. Whether it’s in Appreciative Inquiry sessions or coaching, or end-of-life experience planning. When I ask people about their values, they often generate a quick list: honesty, authenticity, gratitude, fairness, equity, loyalty, and more. And while I believe their answers, the almost rote responses seem to come from their heads—without a connection to their hearts.

When I follow up with the suggestion of tracking their next week— what they are doing 24 hours a day—because it will reveal how they are living their values, or not. I realize that what I’m asking is not a small feat—logistically or emotionally. While it can seem like a lot of niggling details to track your 24 hours—how much time do you devote to sleeping, eating, and daily routines (preparing meals, cleaning, organizing, etc.)? These are certainly indications of your values. What’s more important is how much time you spend on personal, family, and work obligations. Literally, what do you do with your precious “free time.” How are you getting exercise, attending to your religious or spiritual commitments, working in your community, being politically engaged, reaching out to friends and family who are both in need of support or maybe just in need of fun? (See how some of values snuck into that list?!) How you use your time is a reflection of being in this world—in needing to make a living, being committed to your circle of friends and family, and beyond that, your values. 

I believe that what we do every day, and how we do it, reveals our values.

One of the recent manifestations of living my values is painting a 1 inch square* every day that captures a moment of awe, delight, gratitude or beauty that I’ve experienced that day. I also note the gratitude that I’m feeling around it. Well, this is not the “drawn journaling” that McNaughton is discussing in her DrawTogether post (Day 28), it’s my way of touching into my values and my feelings every day. 

Do you journal–whether by writing and/or drawing your thoughts, feelings, questions, concerns, plans, hopes, fears, or more? I have journaled since I was a teenager, loving my special notebooks. (And by “special,” I mean I chose them. They’re not fancy. They range from simple black notebooks to ones with fancy covers, though I’m always writing with a fountain pen.)

When I was at Garnet Health Medical Center, completing my Clinical Pastoral Education internship during the winding down of the COVID pandemic, I set a marker to paper every day—integrating drawings and words to generate scenes capturing the essence of my encounters. I needed to process my emotions, thoughts, questions, and concerns about the range of my experiences there… I carried file cards and a marker with me. They were always in my possession so I could sit with myself for five minutes and turn my attention to my inner world.

Why am I sharing this?

I believe we are living in unprecedented times that require (perhaps) new and thoughtful practices to support us.

I’d like to suggest a return to thoughtfulness/being full of thoughts (though kindness is good too!) and reflection through journaling. Though I am a visual storyteller/graphic journaler, you may prefer another method—and that’s great—you do you! 

I hope you will tell me about your impressions of this post. Even more interesting would be for me to learn how you’re doing and what you’re doing. 

* If this practice interests you, find D. Michele Perry on substack or instagram. We’re about to start the 100 Days of Wonder Challenge. If you you choose to partake in the Challenge, lmk!