As our culture changes and evolves over time, it is important to take a look at the long-time values that keep our community strong and our families resilient. The ups and downs of life will come and go but what helps us to remain strong during tough times are the values we pass on from one generation to the next. While each individual culture has unique values, some resonate throughout time and space.
Respect
It has been said that no person is an island. We are interconnected; the choices and actions we take affect others as well as our environment. What are examples in your life of showing respect towards others?
Family
Being connected to family does not just mean biological ties (though it can include those too). What are important are the emotional connections you build with others. Those connections help build and support each member and bring out the best in each person. In what ways do you build the emotional ties with the people you consider family?
Responsibility
By each person doing their share and contributing in a positive way to their families, their community, their social groups, no one goes without and needs are taken care of. This includes knowing how to manage your money well, understanding and respecting your role and contribution to the people around you, and being accountable for the actions that you take. In what ways do you show responsibility and how do you teach that to our future generations?
Wisdom
Wisdom does not only mean acquiring knowledge. A teacher once said to me that the most profound learning comes from engaging the head, hands, and heart. In other words, being wise involves taking what you learn, the compassion you feel in your heart, and the commitment to positive action and combining them in a healthy way that helps to change the world for the better. Are you taking the steps to take the gifts of knowledge given to you to make a positive difference in the lives of others?
Staying strong in the positive values of your culture can help promote resiliency from drug and alcohol abuse and maintain physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being for yourself and the community.
