Nurture

The final value I will be exploring is Nurture. Being nurturing is often associated with mothers and caregivers. While being nurturing is especially important in these roles, everyone can benefit greatly from becoming more nurturing not just to others but also to themselves. I greatly enjoyed working to better understand what it means to be nurturing to oneself and others. The final of my eleven values is below!

Formal Definition

to help a plan or a person to develop and be successful.

Origin

c. 1300, norture, “upbringing, the act or responsibility of rearing a child,” also “breeding, manners, courtesy,” from Old French norture, nourreture “food, nourishment; education, training,” from Late Latin nutritia “a nursing, suckling,” from Latin nutrire “to nourish, suckle” (see nourish). From mid-14c. as “nourishment, food.”

c. 1400, norturen, “to bring up, rear” (a child), from nurture (n.). Related: Nurtured; nurturing.

Personal Definition

As I mentioned above, nurturing is associated with mothers and those raising children but I believe it involves much more. The first and in my opinion, the most important step is the development of self-nurturing. This involves shifting negative self-talk to love and encouragement. This loving relationship with the self is vital when one moves to nurturing others. One must first see the potential of others then also play an active role in the development of that potential. This includes being present, having honest and open communication, and cultivating a genuine desire for their progress and prosperity.

Nurture: Cultivating a loving and supportive relationship with oneself rooted in a genuine desire for progress and prosperity then allowing this to propagate to all other individuals.

Quotes

“Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.”

–Marvin J. Ashton

“It is easier to pluck a flower than to nurture it; which is why some would prefer to destroy your talents than nurture them.”

-Matshona Dhliwayo

Symbol

Poem

“Nurture”

Negativity enters and I listen,
From every angle without permission,
I let it take root and spread,
I lose control of what is in my head.

Coming from the unknown,
These thoughts are not my own,
Shifting my attention away,
Allows me to cease being prey.

After letting others move across,
I conjure my own thoughts,
Rooted in support and love,
Negative ideas, I move above.

After building myself up,
I fill many others’ cups,
Through my self-care, I am able to share,
Prosperity with others so they too become aware.

Painting

The painting consists of a human in the bottom left corner with one eye looking towards a progressively bigger individual both supported by the outpouring energy from the first human’s heart. The other eye is looking above him at a progressively larger image of their own head. The human in the corner represents the one doing the nurturing by not only seeing the potential development of another but also by being the stable ground on which they can grow. The human is also not only supporting the individual’s prosperity, but that same energy is also coming back around to support the one doing the nurturing. This allows for his own prosperity seen by the growth of their own head above them. This is an important aspect of the painting because to successfully and fully nurture others, one needs to first nurture themselves.

Questions and Answers

Why is this a value you want to instill in your life?

I want nurturing myself and others to be at the core of who I am. I believe having a supportive relationship with yourself leads to a consistently better attitude and the ability to not let mistakes and missteps hurt you more than necessary. I want to genuinely love the person I see in the mirror every morning and want what is best for them. I also want this love and support to propagate to everyone I interact with and have the genuine desire for their prosperity.

What activities bring out this value?

Becoming more aware of negative talk to yourself and working to shift it to be more supportive and encouraging. Everyone messes up but how we react and work through these slip-ups with self-talk can be very defining in our lives. In the moment, this can be very difficult to do. So to begin, reviewing your day and pondering where words of encouragement could be used rather than negativity can be very helpful. This will eventually become easier to do in the moment and soon your instinct will be supportive words. Another fairly obvious activity is being present for others in their times of need and acting as that stability for them to develop.

How would the world be different if more people identified more with this ideal?

People would default to putting themselves in others’ shoes and attempting to better understand those they interact with. People would have the honest desire to see everyone around them positively develop. This would result in a sharp decline of unnecessary competition, jealousy, and comparisons and in an equally sharp increase of collaboration and widespread prosperity. For one last time, the world would undoubtedly become a better place to live for everyone.

What image comes to mind when visualizing this ideal?

Bright yellow, orange, and red energetic waves that pulsate from the heart and improve the lives of others around. I also see people’s self-image becoming clearer as they nurture themselves which leads to better interactions among everyone.

How can people who want to do this first take steps to include it in their daily routine more?

As mentioned above, the first step is to love and nurture yourself which can eventually be shared with others in your life. This nurturing mindset is developed by rewriting any negative talk that exists in your mind into support and love. Meditating daily will lead to greater emotional and mental control in other moments of your life. This will give you the mental strength to let negativity pass through you and replace it with more thoughtful internal exchanges thereby leading to a more nurtured self.

If you have any other questions you think would aid in the understanding and development of future ideals, please leave a comment below!

Songs

The following playlist is the beginning of my collection of songs that I believe embody Nurture:

If you have any other songs you think would fit in the playlist, please leave a comment down below letting me know!

Summary Post Coming Soon

I will be making a final post about the total experience of spending time with each of these values and reflecting on things I thought went well and areas for improvement. I will also summarize my favorite takeaways from each value!

Make Today Your Best Day Yet!

“Life is a series of fresh starts, the frequency of use is up to the individual”

~Zak Keller aka amusingmonk~