It’s April 1st, 2020 as I write this, and we’re in lockdown.
Over these past few weeks we have seen people step up to the mark with offers of help both online and offline to support and help their fellow human beings – even if they don’t know them personally. From the #selfisolationhelp started by Samantha Kelly of Women’s Inspire Network to #chefaid in Donegal – providing meals to those in need, on a daily basis all these ventures will rewrite the language of and highlight a renewed community spirit as we work through this time of Covid19.
Through the pain and heartache of distance from our friends and family, people have realised the value of having each other more than ever before.
Values are not morals or principles
If you ask anyone what their core values are, the chances are they’ll say:
• Honesty
• Trust
• Family
• Friends
Your values can be the reason you make a decision in the first place.
Values are what you feel in your gut. They are not tangible; you can’t touch them. You feel or sense them within yourself. In other words, if you were asked to do something that was going to compromise or have a negative impact on one/all of the above would you do it? Would you be happy with that decision?
Our journey of self-discovery
Some people may not have previously considered what their values really were, they just knew certain things were important to them without realising it was actually a core value. Now though, in these difficult times we are realising that some things we thought were important, like the holiday or the new car, in fact really don’t matter at all. We have all rediscovered just how powerful our values of:
• Empathy
• Compassion
• Patience
• Survival
• And Kindness really are.
We are witnessing just how determined and resilient we can be when the proverbial hits the fan and we find ourselves wondering how we can move forward. We feel helpless because we find ourselves confined in a space designed for relaxation. It wasn’t supposed to be a space of containment or isolation. But difficult as it is, we are getting through it. We are drawing on reserves we didn’t realise we had.
In 1895, Booker T Washington, in his speech said:
“In all things that are purely social we can be separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.”
Our social distancing and staying at home may have us separate like the fingers on our hands, but our values in helping those that are in need bring us all together as one hand reaching out and helping. We are finding other ways to help.
We know we can only do so much, but at the same time we are doing whatever we can no matter how small – because all these small acts of selflessness and kindness add up and are so valuable not just to the recipient, but also to the giver.
Our society is now a team. Individual commitment of those team members – you and me – with our reignited and united strength in our values will help us get through this, together.
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