WRAPPING IT UP - HOLIDAY COOKIES @ BETSY & MARK'S HOUSE
Our Fun Fact for this week is "Values." In some sense, this sums up the whole class. The things you value are the things you protect. The things you value are the things you put your time, thoughts and resources into.
By now, you have recognized that most of what you do is governed by your unconscious habits. Some of these habits reflect what you consciously think you value. Other habits may have been picked up unawares through the influence of family, friends or general culture.
Thinking hard about what you REALLY value - and why - and then paying attention throughout the rest of your life to whether you are living in ways that reflect these values : this is the challenge!
When the things we value are superficial, we are hindered in our able to develop what is called "character." Character develops through sticking to values even when it looks like, from a Utilitarian point of view, it will be costly. For example, when something else I value greatly is threatened or even required, what do I do? If the things I value are superficial, I can simply shift what is important, and never look back. No sacrifices are ever required. The challenge is to find the easiest and most effective way of achieving whatever immediate end I have in mind.
Over the course of a lifetime, this can lead to a mess. Not an irretrievable one, but nonetheless, a point at which one suddenly understands that all of the small, dispensable values one has "used," have stripped one's life itself of inherent meaning. Meaning comes from our human ability to engage in the world in ways that themselves are rewarding. I'm suggesting that the small, micro-moments of reward along the way, the ones that happen naturally and by habit, are the ones that are the most significant not only in the day, but cumulatively over the course of one's life.
Values are things that we both have, and that we can foster and develop. We foster them in ourselves and, indirectly, through our example and the incentives we create, in others.
We don't need to know the description of where we are going, but it is exciting and empowering to recognize that the manner in which we proceed in the process of getting there actually becomes constuitive of our life. How we go about our life becomes the substance of our life. Doing every day in ways that are full of quality, kindness, effort towards excellence, and appreciation for the half-fullness of the glass has a way of creating a life that not only flourishes, but creates flourishing in the lives around us!
Here are some questions for you all to think about in preparation for class on Sunday, November 23rd.
By now, you have recognized that most of what you do is governed by your unconscious habits. Some of these habits reflect what you consciously think you value. Other habits may have been picked up unawares through the influence of family, friends or general culture.
Thinking hard about what you REALLY value - and why - and then paying attention throughout the rest of your life to whether you are living in ways that reflect these values : this is the challenge!
When the things we value are superficial, we are hindered in our able to develop what is called "character." Character develops through sticking to values even when it looks like, from a Utilitarian point of view, it will be costly. For example, when something else I value greatly is threatened or even required, what do I do? If the things I value are superficial, I can simply shift what is important, and never look back. No sacrifices are ever required. The challenge is to find the easiest and most effective way of achieving whatever immediate end I have in mind.
Over the course of a lifetime, this can lead to a mess. Not an irretrievable one, but nonetheless, a point at which one suddenly understands that all of the small, dispensable values one has "used," have stripped one's life itself of inherent meaning. Meaning comes from our human ability to engage in the world in ways that themselves are rewarding. I'm suggesting that the small, micro-moments of reward along the way, the ones that happen naturally and by habit, are the ones that are the most significant not only in the day, but cumulatively over the course of one's life.
Values are things that we both have, and that we can foster and develop. We foster them in ourselves and, indirectly, through our example and the incentives we create, in others.
We don't need to know the description of where we are going, but it is exciting and empowering to recognize that the manner in which we proceed in the process of getting there actually becomes constuitive of our life. How we go about our life becomes the substance of our life. Doing every day in ways that are full of quality, kindness, effort towards excellence, and appreciation for the half-fullness of the glass has a way of creating a life that not only flourishes, but creates flourishing in the lives around us!
Here are some questions for you all to think about in preparation for class on Sunday, November 23rd.
- How has the experience of this class contributed to your life-long journey?
- What have you learned from others?
- What have you learned from and about yourself?
- Which class sessions most surprised you?
- In what ways have you changed over the course of the semester?