What monetary value do you put on your health and well-being?

Think about this….

You put a monetary value on your home, your car, your furniture…all these things have a monetary value, and yet they can be replaced.

Now, let's look at your health. Is it replaceable or irreplaceable?

I asked a friend this same question, and she said her health is irreplaceable – it's priceless! Well, what exactly does priceless mean in the context of your health?

Before we do this, let’s look at an heirloom which is considered priceless to many. Thus, it’s irreplaceable.

You take care of that heirloom. You place it in a space that is protected. You focus on that heirloom with such profound love because you want it to last so you can pass it on to family members. The intent is that this heirloom stays in wonderful condition in order to preserve its meaning to all the family who will care for it for years to come. We look at that heirloom and say this is a part of us and, thus, it has incredible value.

Well, if our health is priceless, then shouldn’t we be treating it in the same respect as our heirloom? Shouldn’t we be preserving our health and loving our bodies (emotionally, physically and spiritually) so that our family gets the benefit of the meaning we serve in their lives for many years to come?

Yet, how many of us actually do this on a conscious level?

Most of us don't take the time nor invest in ourselves monetarily choosing those things that will affirm nurturing, love and protection for our most valuable heirloom – YOU! Giving to ourselves each and everyday, and investing in those things that affirm health is the most valuable thing you can give your family.

Which would you rather give your family? A necklace passed down from your great grandmother or a healthy, vibrant YOU filled with love for yourself? Which one has more value to pass down from generation to generation?

I can speak about this as my father died in 1969, and my mother died in 1987. I have my mother’s wedding ring that I will pass on, and it does have great meaning. However, I would choose to have a mother and father who knew how to love themselves, who knew how to take care of themselves so that I could have learned from them in how to do this for myself. What greater gift is there to pass on?
Neither one of them knew how to love themselves. How could they? They learned how to treat themselves from their own parents. When you think about it, it isn’t something that families focus on–demonstrating individual love. Thus, I spent many years in struggle not understanding how to love myself.

In the book, You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay says, “No matter what the problem, the main issue to work on is LOVING THE SELF: This is the “magic wand” that dissolves problems.” With the help of Louise’s book and many others, I began to learn how to do this.

It was actually through the Divine intervention of an illness at age 41 that really gave me permission to understand this entire concept, and where I wasn’t loving. Through this bedridden experience, I read voraciously, and many epiphanies came as a result. Books just happened to show up, and Oprah had her “Change for Life TV” theme, and many authors were featured such as Gary Zukav and Iyanla Vanzant. I was opening up to this glorious tribute to myself and, although it was incredibly scary to be in that state of desperation with my health, I eventually KNEW there was a gift being presented to me.

Prior to being ill, I worried constantly, and didn’t know how to stop the incessant chatter. I worried about everything, and this fear eventually paralyzed me. When I was ill, I had a lot of anger that I was in this situation, and kept expressing, “Why me?“ And I was soon to find out why, but for very different reasons than what I thought.

It is the last word in that paragraph, “thought” that was to become the catalyst for my getting well. I didn’t know how to change my thinking and feelings, and didn’t even realize that my thinking had gotten me where I was.

I mean, how does one change his or her thoughts? I had no idea that my thoughts were the main contributor to my illness, but all these books were my friends that were illustrating this point, and I took every ounce of advice they were giving me to help myself change my thinking.

You see, during this time, I kept pointing the finger at my husband at that time. “If he was different, if he was better, then I wouldn’t be in this situation.“ This finger pointing had started years before as the communication in our marriage was very challenging, and we didn’t know how to resolve our differences.

You know, God has such a sense of humor, and had fun with me and said, “This isn’t about him, this is about you.” I replied with that look when you don‘t understand something, you know the “deer in the headlights,” and shouted, “What?“

I had no idea what He meant, and my little seven year old Tami came out with a vengeance. Thus, for a short period of time, I stuck my fingers in my ears, and said, “You‘re not the boss of me, stuck my tongue out and ran away.” I didn’t know how this could be my fault, and I wasn’t about to accept responsibility. I mean, when pointing fingers it’s so easy to hold and point outward, not so easy to hold and point inward…it actually hurts!

Yet, God in His gentle way kept sending me messages, and finally I took my fingers out of my ears and listened. Do I really have the power to change this? And the answer was, “Absolutely!”

I had been going from doctor to doctor to find the answers, to get them to heal me, but the message came again, “The answers are not in the medical community. You are to leave the medical community behind, and your answers will come.”

That message prompted another, “What?” Yet, I was beginning to understand that the body is designed to heal itself when given proper ingredients, which all centered around love.

I soon learned that I had the power to heal myself through expressing love for myself, and I was on this profound journey to really get it. Once I made this realization, the healing happened quickly, and the Universe aligned everything for this to happen.

Guess what?

It was the most nurturing, loving thing I could do, and I‘m so appreciative for this gift disguised as an illness. As a result, I’m setting the example for self love for my daughter, Lindsay, who at the time was 12 and is now 25 years old, and pass on this love so she knows how to do this for herself. Lindsay has witnessed my transformation over the last 12 years, and is seeing the positive effects of self love. She is on her own self love path guided with light by many wonderful people, including Louise Hay.

I am my greatest heirloom!

So let’s go back to my original question, and then I've added a question. Take a few minutes to answer them.

1) What monetary value do you put on your well-being?

2) Now, that you have answered it, what do you do to support your greatest heirloom – YOU?

My answer to question 1) is: a million dollars My answer to question 2) is: Laugh and have fun; connect with friends and family; eat nutritious foods; exercise; cleanse, purify and energize my body with super foods; get massages; meditate; use stress release tools; send cards; express gratitude and appreciation; read inspirational books; commune with God; practice living in the moment as the Divine…and eat Hershey‘s chocolate.

When I give to myself, I'm better able to give to others. As Wayne Dyers says, "You can't give away what you don't already have for yourself."

I choose to invest my money where I will get the greatest return and that is in myself to keep affirming and expressing love – appreciating who I truly am. Look at this priceless gift that will be passed down to future generations. Is it worth it? Every penny! And money was created in order to demonstrate appreciation for our desires!

I think of the money, energy and time that it cost me when I lived in struggle. Then I have to add in the monetary amount to everyone else that I impacted when I didn’t love myself. It all adds up, doesn't it?

Protect and nurture "YOU" – your greatest heirloom – to pass down the love to your future generations.

Take a look at this video that speaks to this subject:

You Are Your Greatest Heirloom