What Does It Take to Feel Valued?

11/9/20261 min read

Me with this piece, now in a happy new home with my dear friend Loretta. Thank you, Loretta! 💛
Me with this piece, now in a happy new home with my dear friend Loretta. Thank you, Loretta! 💛

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to feel valued.

For me, some of it comes from purpose. When I paint, I'm not only making something pretty for a wall. I'm working through color, feeling, and story, and that process carries its own quiet satisfaction. Purpose keeps me showing up at the easel even on days when nobody else is watching.

But I'll be honest: there's another kind of value too. When someone pays for one of my paintings, something shifts. It isn't really about the money. It's that a person looked at what I made and decided it was worth bringing into their home and their life. That exchange says, "What you do matters, and I'm willing to invest in it." That's a powerful feeling for any maker.

I think feeling valued takes both. We need the inner satisfaction of doing work that means something to us, and we need some outward sign that it means something to others, too. One without the other can leave us running on empty.

So I'm curious about you. What makes you feel valued in the work you do? Is it the purpose behind it, the recognition, the paycheck, or some mix of all three?

— Ruth, Moon Balloon June

Me with this piece, which just found a happy new home with my dear friend Loretta. Thank you, Loretta! 💛