On Wednesday Nov 23, 2022 late morning I am watching a montage video of Antiques Roadshow’s most expensive items on the show on Youtube.
I find Antiques Roadshow very soothing, no politics or religion, just people bringing stuff for information and valuation.
This was a good one, interesting items that owners had no idea about and sometimes even appraisers get surprises. I enjoyed the reactions of the owners finding out a bit more about their prized possessions as well as their often emotional responses when they find out for instance that a little card table they bought many years ago for a small amount is suddenly a truly original and much sought antique from the 1750’s which eventually sold at auction for nearly $500K.
This video had several similar items that were truly valuable beyond their wildest dreams. I was aware that I was getting all the “feels” right along with them. Sometimes I even had to wipe a tear, my heart palpitating along with theirs. I was empathizing right along with them in their joy, and it was quite exhilarating really.
Suddenly I stopped and noticed a stream of thoughts flood my awareness and that was breathtaking.
There is a scene in my mind where I am going:
“Wow… what if we all became as or more filled with joyous ‘feels’ at recognizing our own worth/values, our own inner beauty. These people are awash with deep emotion and gratitude, joyous at discovering the monetary value of things. What if we had a similar reaction about our own self worth, our own deeper values? What kind of a world would we have if such feelings were the norm instead of the exception?
What if this was our natural state and we gradually transposed it over onto objects, things upon which we placed great value upon. What if the ‘thing’ upon which we placed great value instead was our own selves, our lives, our loves.
Often we feel guilty or fraudulent or not legitimate if we catch ourselves tip-toeing around just ideas, as is we should consider ourselves dirty for having dared such a thing, as if we should instead embrace the opposite as our natural state, even though this is an artificial construct, the joyous experience being our true state.
I buzzed on that for the rest of the weekend. The idea welled up and spilled over into my world, altering my perceptions and opening my eyes to a much sought after state or mindset of appreciation.
Below is the episode in question (it may take a moment to load):