At a time of crisis, we are again at a point of recognizing the need for values. An orphaned child feels insecure, unloved, and unwanted; one without a life of values feels the same. Values are our "parents" - the human soul is nurtured by the values it holds. A sense of security and comfort comes through values in one's life.
Values are the treasure of life, making humans wealthy and rich. Values are friends, bringing happiness in life. A life filled with values is a life of self-respect and dignity. The soul is able to come closer to God, and life becomes real and meaningful. Values bring independence and freedom, expand the capacity to be self-sufficient, and liberate one from external influences. The soul develops the ability to discern truth and to follow the path of truth.
Values offer protection, and one who experiences this is able to share this protection with others. Values bring empowerment, and it becomes possible to remove w aknesses and defects. As the innate goodness of the individual is concentrated on values, the link with God becomes strong and clear. Service is then rendered to others through thoughts, words, and actions. A soul with values is not trapped by any limited desires or attractions, but remains stable in the unlimited.
Values open the heart and transform human nature so that life is filled with compassion and humility.
House of Lords, London, England, Co-Chairperson of Global Cooperation for a Better World, and Member of the Secretary-General's Advisory Committee on the UN50 This year, throughout the world, we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN50). The UN Charter - drafted while World War II was still being waged on land, sea, and air in Europe and the Far East was signed on June 26, 1945, in San Francisco. That was the first birthday. The second was on October 24, 1945, when enough states had ratified the Charter for it to be a legally binding treaty. On that day, 30 nations had ratified.
The third birthday was on January 10, 1946, when the first meeting of the UN General Assembly met in the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London. I was proud to have been present as an "observer," representing the newly formed United Nations Association. There were then 50 Member States representing quite a small proportion of the world's population. The plaque which commemorates that historic event in London bears these words: "To the glory of God and in prayer for peace on earth. "Over the 50 years, as nations have gained their freedom and colonialism has all but ended, there are now 185 Member States, the last few resulting from the breakup of the Soviet Union.
This publication - entitled Living Values: A Guidebook - takes the reader on an exploration of those innermost values that influence personal attitude, outlook, and activity. The reader can journey inside as deeply and honestly as he or she wishes, using each value as a searchlight to discover what lies within the self. That effort promises a more meaningful definition of one's higher purpose in life.
Living Values in adopting the tenet in the Preamble of the Charter of the United Nations focuses on reaffirming faith in the dignity and worth of the human person. Within that active growth process, the individual can uncover a capacity to stretch beyond the limits of current reality and recognize his or her full potential, not only in relation to the self but also to the wider world.
Human dignity is the external expression of an internal state of self-worth. A person who really understands his or her own inherent worth and respects that of others will come to know that worth is not something assigned by external sources, but rather, comes from a source that is universal and eternal. Living Values helps touch that source, guiding the reader toward a more profound understanding of the true nature of the self. That notion, of course, has been the object of much contemplation and discussion, but at its essence is the dignity and worth of the individual and the sacredness or divine nature of human life. With such at the core of Living Values, the message throughout is for the individual and the collective to find the way back to original divine roots through a process of learning and the conscious exercise of choice. Such a process embraces the real meaning and purpose of spiritual and moral education: not to impose an ideology or particular set of values, but rather, to draw out or to educe the best from within the individual. At the same time, a complementary structure would need to be created to allow for ample expression of such living values.
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