I decided as I near
the one-year anniversary of daily writing, that I should investigate writing
prompts to help inspire my creativity.
Today's Prompt: List your four highest personal values.
Listing my four
highest personal values I think translates to the four personal values that are
most important to me. They are values I strive to live by and values that I
look for in my friends. I notice it merely reads to list them. Like a simple
list will suffice. My interpretation of the prompt is my first act of
creativity with this exercise.
I believe in situational
ethics when defined as a synonym for moral relativism. It is a philosophical theory that suggests that ethical
decisions and judgments should be made in the context of specific situations
rather than based on absolute moral principles. Rarely in life is
anything absolute. Absolutes take away an opportunity to reflect, show grace, and
to grow.
Value One: Integrity. Defined
as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Doing the
right thing even when no one else is around. I work to make sure I am
consistent in my beliefs and in my actions. I emphasize integrity and making
ethical decisions in my personal life and in leadership training. I employ
three questions when making an ethical decision: (1) The rule of private gain.
Am I the only one personally gaining from the situation, is it at the expense
of another? (2) If everyone does it who would be hurt? What would the world be
like? (3) Benefits versus burden. If benefits do result, do they outweigh the
burden?
When it comes to
integrity, I like to make sure that I am considering the cultural effects in my
decision making. I recently participated in a conversation where a woman shared
that her seventeen-year-old son did not want to attend a church because there
was a woman minister. He told his mom that, “Women do not belong in church leadership.
It says so in the Bible.” She went on to share that she does not know the Bible
well enough to discuss it with him. It was bothering her. I chimed in with, “The
Bible as we know it are selected chapters, not all the chapters ever written.
One could argue that at the time the books in the Bible were selected they were
based on the then cultural norms of that time instead of in the time of Jesus.”
She said, “I could use that!”
Value two: Empathy (and
compassion). Compassion is the
ability to understand and share the feelings of another, leading to acts of
kindness, charity, and support. I think my empathy skills are a direct result
of my childhood. I was usually the oddball in my class. I liked to read and
write before it was cool. In fourth and fifth grade I wrote and directed plays
for our class. Looking back at that I was fortunate to have teachers that
allowed us classroom time to act out the play. And I also had no problem
getting people to act and use their recess times to practice. My family was poor,
which meant I wore mostly hand-me-downs and even then, had maybe four or five
dresses at most. (Yes, when I was in school we could only wear dresses). In
hindsight, I doubt anyone much cared what I wore. I was the only one keeping
track.
Except for Mrs. D. She was
a co-leader of the girl scout troop I belonged to in fourth and fifth grade. When
meetings were at her home, I was not allowed to sit on her furniture, only on
the floor. I promised, even then, I would never want another child to feel they
were not “good enough” to sit on my furniture. Maybe part of our compassion and
empathy comes from a place of our own hurt? We spend the rest of our days
trying to make sure others feel worthy.
Value three: Service. Defined
as the occupation or function of
serving; contribution to the welfare of others; a helpful act. Simply stated, we put others above ourselves.
Service means we make intentional decisions and actions to benefit others.
Service is friendly and provides answers. No need to explain…
Value four: Authenticity. Authenticity means you are true to your own personality,
values, and spirit, regardless of the pressure that you are under to act
otherwise. You are honest with yourself and with others, and you take
responsibility for your mistakes. Your values, ideals, and actions align.
I would add to this also recognizing other people’s right to their authenticity
and loving them for where they are at.
What four
values are important to you?
.jpg)
