The Importance of Knowing Our Values for Personal and Global Betterment

It has been reiterated from our class discussions that values are the things that really matter to us. (Lopper, 2006) And, as we further discussed this subject, we have discovered that it really has a big influence on our wants and needs. Our values guide us to make decision and even how to run our everyday lives. In assessing our wants and needs, we are unconsciously contributing betterment or demise to the world. So, it is important to channel in to our inner selves to know what really want and need so that in the end, we will find the things that we most cherish and cultivate it to add some goodness in the world.

Our values can either be our belief, our principles and sometimes, even our family. Even voicing out your opinion is considered a value. Now, as I sit and write the values that I treasure most, I found out that aside from my family, I also deeply care about the environment and love. As cliché as it may sound, we should take care of our environment because after all, we are all going to benefit from it and our future children as well. With the onset of technology and our desire to acquire what is the latest, it is heartbreaking to know that a lot of trees, tribes, etc. must be sacrificed just to have out wants.

But, to compensate for our advancing technology, it is also glad to know that we are now beginning to take into considerations the environment—this can be best epitomized by the commercialization of the hybrid cars and the abundance of solar-generating houses in some parts of the world. Still, there are “quite” parts of the world wherein we continue to manipulate their resources so that we can have our personal satisfaction and gains. Now, from what I have learned from our discussions, all I can say is that, we should all make an effort, no matter how small it is, to make this world a little cleaner.

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For my part, I have started doing so through my small ways like throwing my trash in the trashcan (or if ever there is no trashcan, I make sure that I keep it in my pocket and dispose it in our house) and religiously segregating the biodegradables from the non-biodegradables. Also, I started to make a compost pit at our house so that I can grow organic vegetables in the future.

Lastly, I tell smokers to quit the habit because it only adds up to air pollution. As for the other value that I treasure most, it is so overrated but if we analyze it thoroughly, it is surprising to know that we can only achieve the things that we want in this world (i.e. peace, justice, unity, etc.) if we love ourselves enough. I believe that if we love ourselves enough, it is the only time that we can share that love and consequently, build respect for others. And with respect, there comes understanding and then justice and peace.

It is a very extraordinary concept but it just all boil into that. I also have to emphasize that this love that I deeply value is not filial in nature but for the greater good. And, as a first step in achieving this idealistic want (or need), I must admit that I do not have enough love with me to share with others but I am starting to gather love by knowing myself more and talking to my inner self more often and appreciating the value of everything that I see and treasure.

The two values that I treasure most seem conventional but the way I see it, there is nothing too conventional if we want to have a better world. As said in our discussions, we should know our wants and needs because it leads to some make-or-brake decisions in our lives and in the course of the world as well. We all want and definitely need a better world and we can achieve this through the values that are instilled in us or our beliefs and principles that we genuinely cherish. After all, all our values should be for the improvement of ourselves and for others. And I believe that for us to have a better living environment, it must start from ourselves.

In conclusion, for us to have a better world and a proper knowledge of ourselves, it is imperative to have a step-by-step procedure to achieve those desires and these can be done even in the most modest ways. And these steps will only begin from us if we only consider our wants and needs and integrate it to our values but we have to keep in mid that these values should be for the benefit of us.

REFERENCES:

Lopper, J. (2006). What are values? [Electronic Version]. Retrieved September 27, 2007 from http://personaldevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_are_values_.

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