When I was a little girl, my grandfather shot a video of me. Years later, as I watched it on an old-fashioned projector screen, I observed myself as a buoyant four-year old with strawberry blond curls twirling around the room. At one point, this little ball of energy stopped, looked directly into the camera, and beamed a mega smile of pure honesty, truth and delight. Wow, she was fearless … and so alive and vibrant that one could almost see electrons twinkling in her aura!

To this day, the integrity of the child in the video disarms and challenges me to be honest with myself and true to my word. Does this concept seem odd to you? Can you remember a time when you could be so unabashedly honest and open with yourself and the world? Was it when you were a child? Or was it today … perhaps yesterday? Do you ever wonder how it would feel to be that honest and true again?

After thinking about the video awhile, it occurred to me that I needed to ask myself a one big question: “Do I truly value myself and honor my word?” Happily, and with a big sigh of relief, I decided that yes, finally, I do indeed value myself and my word … in fact, next to my beloved Cape Breton accent; my word is my most valuable treasure on Earth.