What ideas, values, concepts that guide your actions and interactions? What are the ideas that keep you on your chosen path? Do you have them written down and can you easily explain them to a stranger? I have been working on this for quite a while and I currently have 12 Guiding Lights that keep me balanced. They are humility, kindness, present, friendly, gratitude, openness, loving, considerate, nonjudgmental, supportive, positive, and forgiveness. Each of these concepts have very specific definitions. Some are obvious. Most are not. I will forgo details unless there is a specific interest. How about all of you. What are your Guiding Lights? #Values
Greg Laden summed it up as "Don't be a chimp".
Trying to do as little harm as possible.
Remembering that I've got it better than more than 99% of the world (only 10% of Australians fall outside the 1%)
Being aware of the power I do have and trying not to be careless with it.
thanks for sharing
I'm lucky, as my guides were set down a couple of hundred years ago. As a Quaker atheist, I follow the SPICE guidelines that all Quakers know: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality.
Let me also write this well-known Quaker phrase and explain it after: "Walk cheerfully over the whole earth, acknowledging that of God in everyone." I was a Quaker before I became an atheist, but after, found no problem with giving this explanation to anyone who didn't know what Quakerism is. In my mind, I would like to be able to acknowledge that QUALITY of god in everyone, those qualities that the "perfect god" would be if there ever was one. Seeing people this way allows me to ignore their religion and beliefs, and recognize those things (yep, sometimes I admit to seeing only one thing) that are good in them.
There's an interesting true story of a British woman who was sent to France in WWII as a spy because she grew up in France and was fluent in the culture. Eventually, she was captured by the Gestapo, tortured and questioned. She never gave up any Resistance fighters' names, despite the horrible treatment, and at one point, the commander, frustrated with her quiet determination and composure, jammed a gun to her head and screamed that this was her last moment. She looked deeply into his eyes and said, I see that of God, even in you. Shaken, he suddenly dropped his weapon and left abruptly. She was released a few days later. Wish I had that strength!
She got to his humanity, she took the chance that he had some. It saved her life. It could just as easily been different. But what ever happened she was true to herself and free to choose how she was to take what was going to happen to her. Hard to do but what other choice is there to make and be free. Free as in open to what was going to happen, not free as in free to choose what someone else was going to do or not do.
I like what you have said. We have some parallel philosophies.
Thanks you. It's a process but worth the time.