Lately I have been thinking about the values that rule my life. I am aware of some of these values and others – not so much. Bob Dylan was spot on when he sang “Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord/ But you’re gonna have to serve somebody” in his 1979 anthem “Gotta Serve Somebody.” That song continues to resonate over the years because of the power and truth of its message.
Another luminary, David Foster Wallace, explored the idea of values (though he did not use that term) in his 2005 commencement address to the community at Kenyon College. In that speech he stated “Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” In this speech he goes on to elaborate on this point and then advises that the “trick” is to keep the truth of what we worship “up front in daily consciousness.” Bringing our “default setting,” the values which rule and guide us, to consciousness leads to what he calls “freedom.” He says:
The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.
I admire this vision of how to live day in and day out in what he calls “freedom.” But how do we do this? How do we bring our values to consciousness? How do we become acutely aware of what we are living in service to? How do we live in this state of “freedom?”
There are many different ways to approach this work of becoming conscious. I believe they all take time. It is the rare person who is struck down by a blinding light like Paul on the road to Damascus. For most of us, I think, this process is one of slow excavation. Like David Foster Wallace says, we must do these things “over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways…”
I recommend doing the work of what I will call “excavation,” or the slow uncovering of things, with a trusted facilitator such as a therapist, an analyst, or a spiritual director because it is easy to fool yourself. The perspective of a trusted observer and confidante is worthwhile. This being said, you can begin and supplement the work at home on your own. I am arts-oriented, so my at-home toolbox is full of art modalities that I enjoy. These “tools” include SoulCollage®, intuitive collage, mandala making, or journaling. A fun and easy tool that might appeal to the artsy and non-artsy alike is Lisa Congdon’s Live Your Values Deck.
So, begin excavating! The process of becoming aware what your live in service to is an important one. And call me if you would like to learn more about SoulCollage® or any of the other art modalities that I have mentioned here.