Thursday Thirteen

The other day while I was listening to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam talk about making June 19 a paid holiday and the removal of Confederate statues, he noted that what we revere and have around us shows what we value.

This made me look around my office and my home. What do I value? And how many of us bother to consider what we value, and why? I think many people do not question what they value - or even know they value something.

Absence of something could also indicate values. For example, I do not, to my knowledge, have a Confederate flag in my home. However, my great-great grandfather was a Confederate soldier. I honor his history simply by knowing it. I don't need a symbol of a lost cause to indicate anything else.

If you're interested in things like morals and values, and would like to do a little self-study, check out yourmorals.org, which has a lot of interesting tests to take that help you evaluate yourself and how you feel about things. 

But just looking around, let's see what I might value:

1. Books. I am surrounded by them here in my office.

2. Education. Books add to this, of course, but there are also three college diplomas hanging on my wall.

3. Music. I have two guitars, a harmonica, an ocarina, and loads of CDs in this one room.

4. History. I have many books of history, mostly local history, so I value the history of my area and my ancestors.

5. Strong women figures. I have a Supergirl poster and a Wonder Woman figure, along with a Charlie's Angel's action figure, in my office. I think there are few more on a lower shelf that I can't see at the moment because there's a guitar in the way.

6. Time. There are three clocks on the wall of my office.

7. Family. I have pictures of my nephews and niece in here.

8. Friends. While I do not have photos of my friends in here, I have many items they have given me that remind me of them.

9. The world. I think that may be symbolized by an old out-of-date globe that I insist on keeping in here.

10. Art. I have a fake Van Gogh painting in my office, along with some of my own photos. Plus I have several cameras.

11. Connectedness. This might be symbolized by the phones and the computer.

12. Money. I keep all the books so all the stuff to do with the farm and my husband's construction business are in my office.

13. Imagination. I have a photo of Gandolf the White in here, along with the aforementioned superheroines, and many of my books are fantasy books. I think it is safe to say I value imagination.

What about you? If you look around your room, what does it say you value?

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 660th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.