identity exercise: make people feel accepted and valued

 

I know this is true about me because I've been told things like this for a long time.

At heart, I'm a peace maker. I'm very sensitive. I think I'm fairly gentle-hearted and compassionate, and I think I'm fairly empathic. All these things lead me to look at other people with understanding and acceptance. The thing is, I look at people as having value because they DO. Everyone has value because they are created by God. I think maybe if you believe in the value of someone, they feel valuable. At times I am judge-y but I usually try to keep my thoughts to myself, and most often I end up talking myself through the judgment to compassion.

It might partly be because I have so often felt worthless and unwelcome. Feeling like you belong nowhere and like you're unacceptable is a terrible feeling. I don't feel like there's a good reason to treat people like that. There are people who make me uncomfortable but I usually assume that's a me problem and even if I keep my distance from them, I try to be understanding and not be ugly towards them.

I think it's a gift from God to be able to accept people and value them the way they are. I feel grateful to God for giving me that gift.