Value Systems

We all have adopted some kind of value system throughout our lives that have been determined by our interactions with our families, our peers, and our authority figures. I think what is necessary for a great change in our society is a great change in our value systems. If we change what we value, we will change how we act and react to situations. Currently we are living in a world where the system is based around competition. Although we promote togetherness and understanding and equality in our social systems, the institutions that influence how we operate on a professional level are completely run by competitive modalities. So there is much conflict or dissonance between these two ideas. An ideal society would reflect our inherent value system, which is to be caring and compassionate to one another, as if we are all family, as if we all stem from the same “creator”; that we are of the same cloth and that when one person or being suffers, we all suffer. And that one being's joy is another being's joy. This is what we know at our fundamental cores but we are influenced from birth to accept the opposite of this. We must value others as we value ourselves, we must see others as ourselves. We must have a team mentality. Altruism should not be limited to those who are closest to us, whether in proximity or intimacy. Altruism should be applied to all living, conscious, experiencing beings. When this becomes our way of thinking, we will prioritize different things, we will create a world, a society where everyone is served, equally.

This is the only way to move forward. And it can be done, it is being done. It is the only thing to do. This does not imply sacrificing our own well-being to put another above ourselves, but instead treating others as equal to ourselves, and if your tendency is to put others first than your focus should be to treat yourself as you would treat someone who you hold above yourself. We should value unconditional truth, honesty, transparency, love, understanding, acceptance, and growth. We should exercise discipline when it comes to carrying out these values. I've used the word “should” a lot here and it is just to convey a point, because in reality, there are no shoulds or shouldn'ts, there are only natural laws, occurrences that tend to unfold. And our natural way of being, our natural progression carries us to a state where these values are expected, where they are inevitable, where they are recognized to be the only logical way to be. When we understand who and what we are, it makes no sense to try to benefit oneself by demeaning, disparaging, or denigrating another.