Hey There… Your Priorities are Showing
I have long appreciated the time-honored Quaker proverb, “Let your life speak”. Our lives are a reflection of our choices and responses based on what we believe is most important.
It’s another way of saying “your actions are louder than your words”. No matter our financial worth, race, or level of fame or influence, we are all living in our own experience and choosing what we prioritize within that spectrum.
People are interested in other people’s priorities because they tell a story about who we are. It’s a way of understanding what we care about most. Our lives reflect what we’ve deemed to be most important, according to our worldview and the environment around us.
“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.” Epictetus
If you want to know someone, observe what they prioritize. Perhaps it’s their family or athleticism, or career, or the vitality of the planet, or personal wealth, or fame. Often, it’s simply the feelings of control, comfort, familiarity, or safety that drives us. In the end, we prioritize, consciously or not, what’s most important to us.
When I’m making eye contact, fully tuned into someone during a conversation, my priority to honor them with my full presence is apparent. When I don’t honor a commitment, or damage a relationship, or don’t take care of myself, my priorities are revealed.
No matter what story we are telling the world, our priorities are always revealed in how we show up for ourselves and others. Priorities are little messengers that tell the truth about what matters to us most.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prioritized nonviolent resistance, collective action, and strategic alliances. My sister, Ashley Logsdon and her husband Nathan have prioritized the experience of their children and modeled their life around it (on the road in an RV).
The priorities of the likes of mass murderers, dictators, human traffickers, and other narcissists are also revealed in their behavior, in the way they show up in life. Similarly, a nation’s collective priorities are revealed in its culture, judicial systems, and economics.
In our search for resonance, we seek out and attract people with similar priorities. And many people are forced into environments far outside of their control. Ultimately, we form relationships, which form communities and fundamental social structures.
Society bends in the direction of its priorities. They are reflected in our politics, economic agreements, laws, social agreements, entertainment, and other cultural aspects of humanity. Like in every relationship, the path to peace and freedom is through unity, patience, and commitment. There is no other way to get there.
Our collective priorities today are creating the reality of our tomorrow. We’ve seen this truth revealed in everything from the ecological destruction of our planet to stopping the AIDS pandemic. Our collective priorities were revealed in both examples.
As individuals, we are known by what we prioritize in our life. They define our identity and behavior. The same extends to societies, and ultimately, humanity.
Sometimes we say we care about something, but then our lives tell the true story through what we’ve actually organized our lives around. The truth is evident in what we consistently give our time and attention to.
As a father, my priorities will always be most noticed (and experienced) by my children. They are the best reflection of what I prioritize in my life, because our priorities are revealed in every moment. Knowing that, is what guides me.
Let your life speak.
I wrote about a similar piece back in 2016 called, “The Choice to Value Love”.
