Living Values

Our Society has been through so much, and has seen so much that it has become complacent. There is a Proverb that says: “if you are weak in a crisis you are weak indeed.” It is these moments of weakness that see us let down our core guard, we let go of the critical foundations that we used to uphold. These foundations were basic yet so profound. They taught us how to be human and how to co-exist. At the core of our ever-rising moral decay crisis is the indifference that has grown, in most cases from the human need to protect ourselves from the harsh realities of life in our times.

Perhaps we have lost sight and understanding of what Values are. This understanding and effective practice starts with the individual though. Our state of the nation (And perhaps the world) in terms of Morals, Values and Ethics is in its worst right now. Could it be that we have no regard for our personal worth? Or that we have completely lost any form of hope and faith? Or that in fact we have deteriorated so much that we are indeed adapting the “animal” way of living?

The sense of self-confidence, self-trust, self-respect, self acceptance has been shattered – and therefore we cannot see the good in others because we do not recognise it in ourselves. When we do, we preserve it for ourselves only so that the light does not die. But will it not be much brighter if we shared it? Isn’t it that more candles give more light than one?

If each of us came out of the cocoon we’ve enclosed ourselves in and try to live a positive value each day, gradually we will all go back to who we truly are. We are human and therefore have a core ability to love one another, care for one another, bear one another’s burdens, and forgive one another. To achieve this we’ll have to practice by doing it to ourselves.

Values are not a far fetched ideology. They are practical in our day to day living. Our lives are harnessed by application of Values, Morals and Ethics. In all spheres of our lives we should be guided first by Integrity and Values. We each have the power to transform the other’s point of view in this regard.

My values cannot come alive without the next person adapting them, and the Society cannot uphold any values if no one has some and upholds them. The Value Chain therefore requires a commitment of the individual to live their values openly, in order to allow the next person to do so – thus creating a space of genuine acceptance and understanding.