Fruitful Values

Imagine strolling the produce aisle. Your eyes gaze from shelf to shelf at radiant reds, bright yellows, crisp blues, and vibrant greens. As you pass each fruit, you can smell the sweet aroma drawing you closer and closer. It wafts around and dances to a classical ballad enticing you to touch, invoking you to taste.

Have you ever seen fruit look so delicious? I personally have never seen an entire produce section look this good but I have been tempted by the sweet smell of strawberries, nectarines and peaches.

What if your values made up the fragrance and colors of your life? Would you be a sweet smell that attracted followers with your every move? Would you stand tall like a pineapple stretching so everyone can see how beautifully you carry yourself? Or would you produce a rotting stench that repulsed everyone away?

Are you living your life so intentionally that it is pleasing to the eye? Have you attracted an audience that watches your every move as you live vibrantly and lively with the values inscribed in your heart?

Values determine what you do. Values direct which road you choose to travel and where you will arrive. Your values are the guardrails that will keep you on the right path and keep you within safe and prosperous limits in your life.

Those who do not share your values will not honor your boundaries. They will creep into your space inch by inch, word by word. They will appear at first, as innocent or unknowing, but if we allow them to continue we will lose focus and our values become distorted as we question ourselves asking if we are not flexible enough as the world calls us rigid and impliable. We should not be willing to waver for the sake of someone else.

The answer is not to isolate ourselves or remove ourselves from the world, but instead we accept them for who they are. Acceptance does not mean agreement. After all, why would they seek you out if they thought you were so uptight?

The answer is that who you are makes a difference. They are enticed by your message. You call to them with your actions, you sing to them with uplifting praises and encouragement. They crave what you have and are seeking a way to capture it for themselves.

The best way to mentor is to allow your chosen few to walk beside you. Invite them into your thought process, your reasoning and your purpose. Share your core values and allow them to become attractive in the words they speak and the things they do. Watch them grow.

Is the life you live today a representation of what you want people to know you for? Can they associate you as producing good fruit such as peace, love, joy, kindness and self-control. Do you practice your values in everyday life whether in front of an audience or behind closed stores? What crowd are you attracting?

Write down the top three things you want to be known for. Now list five actions for each item listed. These should be actions you can practice on a daily basis, such as choosing to focus on a good thing when having a rough day at work, or saying hello while making eye contact with everyone you pass, even the strangers or the homeless. This week I challenge you to take those first steps and then come back to comment how it made a difference in your week.