Finding Joy in Value as a Noun

A value is much more than experiencing joy. No, a value is the belief in something that actually makes life worth living for the individual as well as for most. if not for all people.

Thus, “I enjoy sports” is very different from affirming “I believe participation in sports makes life better.

Properly used, values point to experiences that actually improve life, like honesty integrity, dependability, responsibility and compassion.

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A real value improves life for everyone. In other words, we all profit from the practice of honesty.  A real value of something is usually learned over time, in other words. the enjoyment in value is not always immediately obvious, rather, we may only experience a value as a source of joy when we have become aware of its long-range import.

“I value you” means I think you have worth as you are.  You don’t have to change. I believe in you as you are, and I believe in the better person you may yet become.

More often than not, values are opinions we grow into as we learn their meaning from experience. 

In other words, over time we may come to believe that, indeed, "honesty is the best policy." So, we live. Honestly, we do.