The Gift?

This was in my inbox this morning:

:: Every Experience Is a Gift ::

Perfectionistic parenting is rooted in the false idea
that it's bad to make a mistake or fall short of one's
expectations.

But if you think about it, you can derive value from
*any* experience -- no matter how "bad" it is or how
much pain it involves -- IF you're willing to look for
the hidden gifts.

The one gift found in *every* negative experience is
that it sharpens the contrast between what you want
and don't want, giving you an opportunity to focus
more powerfully on your desire.

When you fall short of your parenting ideals, you may
be tempted to indulge in guilt or self-deprecation.
But then you'd be modeling violence against self
and creating more negative experiences.

Today, if you find yourself facing unwanted
circumstances, or failing to uphold your own
standards, ask yourself, "What is the gift for me
in this experience?"

Such gifts are more obvious in hindsight, but why not
enjoy them *now*?

http://dailygroove.net/gift

Feel free to forward this message to your friends!
(Please include this paragraph and everything above.)
Copyright (c) 2010 by Scott Noelle"

What is the gift for me in this experience? I do know more fully what I want. I am going to have to think about it more to find anything else. I know one more, I am uncovering nasty layers of myself in order to find me behind all this hurt and lies.

I am lost without the scale. I feel like I do not know who I am without that number, that I do not know my value without it. That number has been the definition of what I felt about myself since teenager. Wow.