For years, my go-to was seeking. Seeking teachers, guides, leaders, authors, coaches, influencers to help me navigate my way back into alignment.

When I first heard folks using this term I wasn’t entirely sure what they meant. Alignment felt like some mysterious energetic and spiritual experience that I was meant to be aiming for.

While I now think I know what people are referring to and have a sense of how it feels in my body, my day and my mind, there are times - a lot of them - when the sensation of alignment feels impossible. And the attempts to come back into it are exhausting.

But here’s what I now believe, I was never, ever, ever out of alignment.

I might have been tired, under-resourced, overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, hungry or having a particularly human day.

I might’ve been exploring or learning or figuring things out, which sometimes feels like being lost or confused.

But I don’t think that has anything to do with alignment, I believe it has everything to do with our values.

Not the values that society or culture tells us we should have.

The values that reflect who you are, what you believe, your lived experience, your understanding of the world. 

Because those times when I did not feel my full, whole self, it’s clear that I was not honouring what was most important to me.

Knowing our core values and choosing to honour them supports us in creating meaning and purpose within ourselves, instead of searching and relying on something or someone outside ourselves.

When we place importance on what others tell us, it’s easy to adopt what they deem valuable even though it may not ultimately reflect our own beliefs. When we know what we value, the solutions we have been seeking can be accessed through our own portal of wisdom.

Honouring our values keeps us in curiosity and shifts us out of seeking. And curiosity asks that we become both the student and the teacher.

Because here’s the thing about your values: You already know what they are.

You might need some help in being able to articulate them. But what you do not need help with is in finding them. They are already there waiting for you to declare them, embody them, and nurture them.

I’m holding The Values Compass workshop on Tuesday, July 13 at 9amPST. It’s $75CAD. In our time together you’ll get clear on your core values, and be invited to begin exploring how to embody through play, curiosity and noticing. Learn more.