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Transcript

Why You Are Infinitely Precious · Infinitely Precious

• 0:00
  intro: Welcome to the infinitely precious podcast produced by infinitely precious LLC. Your host is James Henry. Remember, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.
• 0:12
  James: Hello, beloved. It's me James. And it's good to be with you today for the podcast on the Infinitely Precious podcast. It's hard for me to believe that we are 60 podcasts into this companionship we've been a part of. There's a part of me deep inside that wants to make this some kind of achievement that I've made it to 60 podcasts or how many listens there might be.
• 0:47
  But the truth is I didn't start this podcast because of a desire for fame or acclaim. I started it because I felt like there was a need. And there was a message that had been given me that was worth sharing. You have heard me say over and over again if you've listened to this podcast or if you've known me in person, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are. That truth rings very deeply for me.
• 1:36
  It is something that took me a lifetime to come to recognize as true. And when I lose my way and begin to wonder where my value comes from, I come back eventually, sometimes slowly, to that very statement, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are. You and I both know that we live in this world. A world that teaches us that we are valued by what we produce. That we are valued by how we compare to others.
• 2:23
  We are valued by how we appear. Or any number of other achievements or goals that we have set for ourselves or have been set for us by others. Valuing sometimes seems to begin for us from the time we are very tiny people Being defined as good or bad girls or boys, bad people for our behaviors. And so, when I began this podcast, wanted to reaffirm for those who watch the stream or who listen to the voice of the podcast that there is something more, something different, another way of seeing ourselves. And that is as being infinitely precious inherently.
• 3:39
  Born into a place, born into this world with an inherent value and that value is immeasurably great, which is why I chose the word or was chosen for me infinitely precious. If you are immeasurably precious because you are you, because you bring the gift of yourself into this world. And so it seemed to me that in a world with lots of disaffirming voices, in a world where, the voices are measuring us or telling us how we can be better by smelling better, by running faster, by being a certain size or wearing certain clothes that where so much of the message measures us by externals, that it was worth having a message to remind you and myself as a part of this kind of companionship that we're on together with these messages remind us that we are born into this infinite preciousness. That every single one of us from my deepest roots in my faith as a follower of Jesus, my deepest roots in the very first chapter in the Bible. Genesis one tells me, I am made, you are made, we are made in the image of the divine.
• 5:26
  That we bear that image. I'm convinced that as the the divine is infinitely revealable, you and I are little pieces, important, precious pieces of that revelation. And that's the gift that the divine gives us all in giving us each other. And you're one of those gifts. So when I began this project that I'm excited, I was as maybe as shocked as you are that I'm at number 60 in terms of the number of podcasts I've done.
• 6:14
  That I've that I've been doing it for over a year now and that this is the sixtieth time I've come to share a message. So as you and I walk the path of this world, it feels like to me we need to be reminded sometimes that despite influences and all of the others who may tell us what our value was from their own subjective view that we have to always be reminded and to learn to remember for ourselves that we are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift we are. It's inherent. It's a part of you. It's in the gift you are as unique individual, irrepeatable in this entire vast infinite universe of which we're a part.
• 7:11
  There will never be nor has there ever been another revelation of the divine exactly like you. You are unique, and you bring that gift to us. That's why you're infinitely precious. That's why I proclaim this infinite preciousness as a part of this podcast. Now admittedly, sometimes I get esoteric.
• 7:42
  I'll read an article and I'll feel the need to tell everybody something new that I've learned because I get excited about things like that. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I also know that what's most important to remember for me and for you, at least I hope so in this journey that we're taking together, this path that we're on together, that you matter. That you are precious, you are a gift and what you bring to the table, what you bring to the conversation is you. And that bringing you is enough.
• 8:24
  You know, you honor all that is by being you, by learning who that is, by not beating yourself up when you trip and fall, when you are less than other people choose to measure you by, or sometimes the means by which you choose to measure yourself. Sometimes we're our own worst critic as people who know me. Sometimes I'm my own worst critic. And I don't even criticize myself so often about the things that really matter. I criticize about the little tiny things, the trip ups in grammar, or the way I phrased something.
• 9:13
  Not because it hurt someone else or even me, but because it wasn't in some way perfect. I'm learning, have learned, am continuing to learn there is no such thing as perfect in this universe in which we live. There is complete. There is whole. There is coming into fullness.
• 9:37
  But even if in the language that Jesus spoke, there is no word for the perfect. There is a word for fullness and completeness and wholeness. Be whole just as god is whole. We are are on that journey of wholeness. We're on that journey of wholeness.
• 9:59
  So, why we are precious is because we are born into a world to bring the gift of ourselves, the revelation of the divine that is within each of us, the unique revelation thereof to life and to light. I can't thank you enough for being a part of this journey whenever you came to it. Maybe this is the first time you've ever listened to it. Maybe you've been listening ever since the beginning and you've heard the varying degrees to which I've been able to communicate this feeling, this sense of belonging, this sense of mattering. But this sixtieth podcast is a reminder to me of how important this is.
• 10:53
  How important it is to me to say it, to feel like it's part of what I've been my gift it is to voice this truth that I have discovered and the opportunity it is for you to hear it. You are precious. You matter not because of how you look, not because of what you've done, but simply because you are. Because in this moment, you're drawing breath. Because in this moment, your heart is beating.
• 11:39
  Because in this moment and every moment before this moment and in every moment ahead, you bring yourself the gift you are. So just a reminder what we talked about along the way, be kind to yourself. You don't need an extra critic. There are plenty of critics, both implied and direct in your world, in mine. So you don't need to be one of them.
• 12:13
  If anything else is as self protective as that mechanism might be triggered by your need to sort of be the first to catch yourself. Take a step back and learn to be kind to yourself, to know that you matter. And when you catch yourself speaking to yourself in a way that is disrespectful, in a way you wouldn't speak to another human being, stop yourself. Recognize that critic within is in some way trying to protect you from the world in which we live. Maybe by dragging you down for a reason neither of us can understand in this moment.
• 13:01
  But know that it matters so be gentle with yourself. Take moments in the day to celebrate being alive, the little moments. I love it when I get to take a walk outside even when it's as chilly as it is this time of year. When I'm out there in the world, catching a glimpse of even the trees that no longer contain a single leaf. Think about the cycle of life.
• 13:33
  It's those little tiny ordinary moments in which the divine show up in my life, but I have to be paying attention. So be gentle, pay attention, give yourself the gift of moments when you can give your undivided attention to the natural world in which we live. Be kind to other people. Let this preciousness that defines you be also that which defines the quality of the relationships in your life, how you speak to people. I can't tell you how they're going to speak back.
• 14:16
  You can't guarantee it any more than I can, but you certainly can be all that you are. And if you learn to treat yourself preciously, if I learn to treat myself preciously as infinitely precious, then it begins to flow out in the way I see and treat other people too. You are a gift. My blessing to you this day would be to go out into this world, this beautiful world that we have and live into your preciousness remembering that living into it is simply being you. You are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.
• 15:11
  Thank you dear ones for joining me on this journey. I hope you'll continue. If you're new to the journey, I hope you'll be on it with, with, continue with us on this journey. If this has been a helpful message for you and you know someone you think might benefit from it, I really do encourage you to share it. It's a free gift and it's yours to give away as you see fit.
• 15:37
  Thanks for joining me on this journey and I look forward to my continued being along together on this companion to journey with you. Again, blessings upon you and remember you're infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you are. Until our next time together.