How do we value the contents of our lives?

I was prompted to write this post after a conversation I had with someone, one evening. Then the very next day I read an article about Simon Cowell. Yes, I apologise for mentioning that man on here, but you will understand how he is a very public example of some of the things that I am going to talk about in this post.

Several years ago, I met a very inspiring lady, at an awards ceremony. She had her own cancer story to tell and had been nominated for an award. We met purely by chance, and we were sharing experiences. The following day, we both mailed to say that we thought each others stories were incredible. Since then, we have kept in touch. She has managed to get her life back on track brilliantly, and now runs her own company. My story as you know is not like that, and I am still under treatment.

We were talking the other night, and I mentioned what great work she was doing, and she replied by saying that it wasn't as valuable as what I was doing! That really made me think about what value we put on things in our lives. What is really important to us?

Firstly, we live in a society that is dictated by money. We are bombarded these days by media telling us about the state of our finances. Almost from the womb we are open to advertising telling us that our lives will not be complete without a certain gadget, or we must buy some anti wrinkle cream, that will stop us from ageing!! We see other people buying things we can't afford, and our children are constantly under peer pressure to have the latest clothes.

Is it any wonder that we can't really see what is truly valuable in our lives? Obviously, we all live our lives differently and therefore have different priorities, but I would like to say that the core values of life, which can bring us the most happiness, are the things that we can't buy!!

It is at this stage in the post that I would like to bring Mr Cowell back in. I would say that he has more than enough money and power for one man. Yet it seems that behind the scenes he is a deeply unhappy person.He seems to have forgotten that most truly valuable things in life, have to be earned, and cannot be bought. It seems that he will never experience the true riches that come from an enduring relationship.

In my opinion the things we all need to lead a relatively normal life, will include, some or all of the following, and in no particular order. Health, friendship,loyalty,trust, love, happiness, and time. Of course, we all need money, to live, and I'm not trying to pretend that we can get by without it, but we shouldn't sacrifice some of the other things in pursuit of it.

I'm sure our priorities need to be adjusted as we go along the highway of life, to help us adapt to ever changing personal circumstances.If I use my own case as an example, my priorities were dominated by work, as I felt that money gave me freedom. Ironically I became a prisoner of money, and had to work harder to keep up with my own demands!

As you can imagine, we had to make some massive changes to our way of life, but after 5 years, I have got used to living with out earning. It is now my new way of life, and I know that I can survive ok. Ironically, I feel more free than I have for a long time. Particularly in the work I do. I look at each opportunity that I am offered, and have learned to say no. I guess I can't be called a wage slave if I don't have a wage!

Given that my health is what it is, then time is my priority. I just cannot afford to waste it, and will only get involved in things which will aid my work, and eventually people affected by cancer. My free time is spent with my family and friends. It is fantastically enriching sharing life's experiences. After all, what is the use of experience if it is not shared? Just remember that it is not solely ours to keep. It is our duty to pass it on, so that others can learn.

One of the things that I enjoy most, about the work I do, is being able to make people smile, even if they are not feeling great. My friend called them 'Million Dollar Smiles', as you can't put a value on them. A great description but they are worth even more than that to me!

What do you value in your life? Feel free to let me know. Maybe it's a new gadget? A lot of our readers will be interested to hear your views.We are all different and can learn from each other
Enjoy!!