Promoting values together in the community

Values bring families, communities and countries together and connect them for a cause bigger than themselves. Values like trust, integrity, commitment, respect and responsibility improve the quality of interaction with diverse relationships and enhance compassion for fellow beings. Positive energy is generated in the relationship with human beings coming from different ethical backgrounds.

Awareness of experiencing values in life is the process of discovering one’s own inner self and knowing one’s consciousness. The inner guide helps us identify and consolidate our strengths and shows the pathway to rectify mistakes.

We need to be full of humility, temperance, honesty and fair play in our interactions with others – in words, body language and behavior. We need to acknowledge our imperfections and shortcomings, while at the same time accepting people the way they are without being critical and wanting them to change. Faith will empower and create an impact in the life of others.   

In the history of humanity, conviction is morally civilizing, values have stimulated inspiring holistic thoughts and spiritual awakening which have given individuals as well as nations conviction and confidence in stable peace in the face of distress and crisis. The rise and flowering of democracy and concepts of liberty, fraternity and justice in the U.S. is an example to illustrate the point.

Trust is a function of character and competence. Character includes your integrity, motives and intent with people. Competence includes capabilities, skills, and a track record of success. For developing and promoting values in the community, we need to work on societal trust. As we learn and grow in life our aim should be to give more and take less in the society we live. Contributing to the society gives inner contentment and happiness. It strengthens the inner fabric of self-reliance and mental stability.  

We can continuously rebuild a dynamic portfolio of virtues. Individual virtues are bricks that build character, which is the backbone for authentic progress of communities, cultures and societies around the world. Intrinsic values we possess are love, compassion, happiness, peace, purity, power and joy. It is up to us how much we use these virtues in promoting values in the community. These resources within us can guide us and show us how to shine in darkness just like the moon glitters in the sky.

We can promote the right value system in a community if all of us individually learn to live not only for our values but also the community, especially the needy and deprived. A great Indian saint, Swami Vivekananda, said, "They alone live, who live for others; the rest are more dead than alive." Mother Teresa in her lifetime set an example of service above self without expecting anything but a smile in return. When collective values are incorporated in the community, the standards of ethical excellence are far more effective and inspire others to work for the welfare of the community.

Nidhi Shah

Nidhi Shah is a management consultant in Westlake.

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Volume 3, Issue 5, Posted 10:00 AM, 03.08.2011