So much richness, as usual, in this post. I'll hold most of my comment for a real time conversation. But I will say thank you for sharing your experiences of discernment and alignment. I have been diligently working this year (2024) on courage and more recently (beginning mid April) on using that courage to listen and respond to my gut and intuition; to align my actions with what I mean to cultivate in my life rather than what is expected; ie what seems "responsible" or "respectful." Those are good values. I hope I approach them in some way. The values I've chosen as priorities for myself are love, compassion, community, harmony, peace, kindness, inclusion. In my experience, those are different bars, and have different metrics, than responsible and respectful.
Thanks so much for sharing Mary! I love this so much!
Yes! Thanks for sharing your thoughtful comment, Lori. Your point is excellent about how the metrics for following the values you're prioritizing would differ from the external expectations around being "responsible" or "respectful" or (in my head I'm thinking) "in line" with societal norms and trends.
Yes! You've hit the nail on the head. After I posted and continued to think on this topic, I began to wonder about not the value of responsible or respectful but whose definition, and therefore whose measure, of those words I was leaning into. I have been conditioned, as many/all of us have, to accept only certain behaviors and decisions as fitting into this category. In my own value system I can value "falling apart" as much as I value "holding it together." They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Each of those actions can be a responsible and respectable choice. Each has its place. And their values can, and likely will, change for me. I am ever evolving! :-)
"In my own value system I can value 'falling apart' as much as I value 'holding it together.' They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Each of those actions can be a responsible and respectable choice. Each has its place."
So much richness, as usual, in this post. I'll hold most of my comment for a real time conversation. But I will say thank you for sharing your experiences of discernment and alignment. I have been diligently working this year (2024) on courage and more recently (beginning mid April) on using that courage to listen and respond to my gut and intuition; to align my actions with what I mean to cultivate in my life rather than what is expected; ie what seems "responsible" or "respectful." Those are good values. I hope I approach them in some way. The values I've chosen as priorities for myself are love, compassion, community, harmony, peace, kindness, inclusion. In my experience, those are different bars, and have different metrics, than responsible and respectful.
Thanks so much for sharing Mary! I love this so much!
Yes! Thanks for sharing your thoughtful comment, Lori. Your point is excellent about how the metrics for following the values you're prioritizing would differ from the external expectations around being "responsible" or "respectful" or (in my head I'm thinking) "in line" with societal norms and trends.
Yes! You've hit the nail on the head. After I posted and continued to think on this topic, I began to wonder about not the value of responsible or respectful but whose definition, and therefore whose measure, of those words I was leaning into. I have been conditioned, as many/all of us have, to accept only certain behaviors and decisions as fitting into this category. In my own value system I can value "falling apart" as much as I value "holding it together." They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Each of those actions can be a responsible and respectable choice. Each has its place. And their values can, and likely will, change for me. I am ever evolving! :-)
Indeed! I love this part you wrote:
"In my own value system I can value 'falling apart' as much as I value 'holding it together.' They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Each of those actions can be a responsible and respectable choice. Each has its place."
And I hope we're all ever evolving. :)