263- My core values

My core values is a subject of #52weekgratitude challenge that I'm following this year as much as I can.

My core values can't be easily summed-up, as I have quite a few keywords. I can, however, organize them in themes as follow:

• kindness and compassion, veganism ; ethical lifestyle and actions 
• equal rights for all - humans and other living beings alike, 
• truthfulness, honesty and authenticity ; integrity in words and actions 
• critical thinking, atheism and secular societies,  
• education,  raising awareness to all kinds of injustices and matters of importance 
• Service, community, shared responsibilities, commitment 
• binding everything : diversity and respect, personal growth, tolerance of persons but not of intolerable actions,  and communication, the device to all possible changes 

Indeed, kindness and and compassion are two major components of my vegan lifestyle, as my main reason in choosing it have always been - even since my youth- kindness and compassion to animals. I believe they have equal rights to experience and enjoy their lives, freely and without humans to shorten their natural life-span for greed and wishes to take an ascendance over other living beings as excuses to use, abuse, torture and kill, for any reason and goal (food, clothes etc etc). I discuss my veganism in a few other posts. 

Equal rights in human terms regard my wish and belief that people would have equal legal rights in all countries, with no discrimination - as examples of prejudices plague all our societies, we see it on a daily basis, even in so-called developed countries. 

I'm a strong believer in feminism, that I expand in humanist terms to equal rights for all genders - not just in cisgender male/female terms but also to LGBTQ+ (etc on all other acronyms representing the ever-expanding redefinition our society bares to gender and sexual identities and topics). Feminism and LGBTQ+ issues are inter-related just as much as as changing both gender stereotypes or expected behaviors and interests. 

I cannot stress enough how important honesty and authenticity are to me ; in a society full of people wearing masks and playing games, with false representation of who they are, or glaring contradictions between what they say and do, I feel we don't meet enough honest and truthful persons to balance all those lies and betrayals we experience in our lifetime. I can forgive small lies, but I find that trust becomes a fragile glass, warning to break at the slightest sign of other possible lies and betrayals, and thus I guard myself and withdraw from many friendships. Best be honest, right ? Telling a lie is disrespectful and mean - and we need to spread kindness between us all. 

Indeed, I believe in spreading kindness to other humans around us, as there are so many liers, so many dramas between people, so much hatred, corruption and misunderstanding, so much fear, that any word or act, small or big, to spread kindness is a service to humanity. 

We need to expand this kindness to those who cannot speak or stand for themselves - those our societies have put in delicate positions, or where they cannot protect themselves. Those who are left out from their equal rights, those left weakened in an intolerant and violent humanity : some children, women (= again feminism here), many adults who are targeted by any one or multiple prejudices, and lastly, all those animals whose voices should be heard to receive respect, and equal rights for life. 

In regards to critical thinking, atheism and secular societies, I can add that by practicing logical thinking instead of magical, we naturally come to understand that no god ever existed outside of human imagination, as excuses to let go of our responsibilities or as attempts to put words on things we didn't understand. Through science and critical thinking, we see the logic in this and can better ourselves as individuals, and improve society as only a secular basis can start turning the clock on many ailments that attacked us all and divided us, through groups of mutual beliefs, against all those who don't share them. These are the roots of so many inequalities, injustices, pain, suffering and prejudices that lead to so many issues that our societies are plagued with. 

To tie all these topics together, we need to educate everyone in equal terms, from youngest age, to instill the best values of compassion, kindness and help our children - those who will follow us after their youth, to leave a better world than the one we are in. 

Education, to teach logic, and through understanding of all these issues we can better accept that our differences are necessary to enrich humanity. 

Acceptance adds to compassion and kindness ; acceptance reduces prejudice and fear. And this in turn, lead us to a higher humanity... 

All this may seem impossible, and indeed, the realist pessimist that I am sees that these are currently utopian ideals. Our humanity changes in very slow pace, and that is part of what evolution teaches us. Again, science VS magical thinking, proves that we are who are right now, not because this is how some deity made us, but how we started, sluggishly and gradually evolved, in an ever-becoming path - though we see a lot of regression as well. Evolution isn't always a straight-forward process, not when it comes to societal values, at least. 

I nonetheless believe that we must do our best to spread kindness, raising awareness and thriving to improve ourselves on individual levels ; and sow seeds of progress around us - by talking, educating and acting towards these goals. 

I lead as much of an ethical lifestyle as I can, sharing this value-system in the hope that I inspire others to do the same, and thus enlarge the field in furthering equality, and join my words to actions I take - or refrain from - in coherence to my beliefs. 

I am fully committed in these and strongly believe that the only ways to even begin achieving any of these, we need to all work together, as a community, sharing the responsibility in propagating these conducts and mend our collective ailments, for a better society to come.  

I believe that for any change to occur, we must learn to communication and promote respect and tolerance, for growth, both personal and in groups, and to fight any unjust or intolerable actions. Diversity of voices, to create a more evolved society.