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The Virtues Gazette Bringing Virtues To Life |
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The Virtues Gazette Bringing Virtues To Life |
February 2003 Published monthly by Watters & Associates, British Columbia, Canada Author/Editor: Nancy A. Watters, MA The Virtues Gazette is a FREE monthly e-zine that brings you practical ways to boost "moral intelligence" in homes, schools and communities. Feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends. Subscribe here 1. VIRTUES IN THE WORKPLACE-- James Madison warned that without sufficient virtue and intelligence among the citizenry, no form of government, no theoretical system of checks and balances, will render us secure. And Adam Smith argued in The Theory of Moral Sentiments that "a free enterprise system degenerates unless individual business people practice intentional virtue." (Journal of Business Ethics 8, 1989, p. 46. Cited by Don Brown in To Build Anew.) Recent shocking examples of lack of integrity in corporate management and the resulting "crisis of confidence" have sparked renewed commitment to emphasizing ethical practices in business enterprises. If you are interested in creating a more virtuous workplace, you won't have to look far for support. Here are two examples. Last September, over 100 visionary entrepreneurs gathered for the Social Venture Institute in British Columbia, Canada. They explored ways to bring about social change through creative business models such as fair trade, social investing, sustainable living and environmental responsibility. Deb Abbey, CEO of Real Assets, stated, ". . . the world is changing. A healthy environment and common human decency are not costs of doing business. They are the cornerstones of a strong and sustainable global economy." In the book Managing With the Wisdom of Love, consultant Dorothy Marcic documents how commitment to love, justice, dignity and respect in the workplace enhances the "bottom line". Using real-world examples from such companies as Shell Petroleum, Phoenix Chemical and AT&T, she provides practical ways to incorporate enduring spiritual principles into any worthwhile enterprise. 2. VIRTUE OF THE MONTH---LOVE-- Love: "Feel a deep fondness for"; "Delight in, greatly admire, cherish," [Oxford Pocket English Dictionary] Love is the vital energy of life that effects all things. Many people feel it is the most important virtue of all. Any dictionary definition hardly scratches the surface. Romantic love, parental love, platonic love, erotic love and self-love are varied facets of Universal love reflected into the world. True love is based on seeing the Divine virtues reflected in others and being attracted to them. We "fall in love" most easily with people who are kind, honest, courteous, patient and so forth. But lasting love is an active choice, not a passing feeling. In The Art of Loving, Eric Fromm explores the various types of love and shows how this extraordinary emotion can be used to alter the whole course of life, to overcome fear, conquer shame and anxiety, release hidden potentialities and recreate society. He says, "love is an activity, a power of the soul." "Love is primarily giving, not receiving." "Love is the overcoming of human separateness, the fulfillment of the longing for union." To love is to take a chance. Kent Smith said, "People are unreasonable, illogical and self centered. Love them anyway." [From the Paradoxical Commandments, Copyright 1968, 2001] If you love, it will sometimes hurt. But the alternative (harden your heart) condemns you to loosing all feelings-the joy as well as sorrow. So what makes people take a chance? What makes them choose to love in the face of hate? 'Abdu'l-Baha says,"Real love is impossible unless one turn his face towards God and be attracted to His Beauty." Love that emanates from the spritual realms is lasting. It is a sun that continually radiates healing energy into the world. Sometimes there is cloud cover which prevents us from seeing it directly. Ego and self-absorbtion are examples of "clouds" that prevent us from accessing this Universal love. Compassion, generosity, and kindness keep us in touch with our own spiritual reality and our loving Creator. The most important ingredient for successful parenting is love, coupled with clear family rules and fair consequences. As a first line of action, love and kindness have a far greater influence on children than punishment, especially if parents hope to develop good character. Children recoil from harsh words and cruel treatment. Loving people are a magnet for children's hearts. Once the heart is attracted, then the mind and behavior can be trained with compassion. The effect of love is so powerful that it even influences plants, as a class of young children discovered. Joan Bramsch reports that her students took two identical ivy plants and did an experiment. One plant was put in their classroom and received constant doses of loving thoughts, songs and attention. The other was placed in the kitchen and ignored. Both plants received the same amount of light and water. After four weeks the kitchen plant was sickly and hadn't grown at all. The one in the classroom had grown three times larger and was vibrant and healthy. When the sickly plant was subsequently also given loving thoughts, songs and attention, it caught up with the other plant in just four weeks. "I took this lesson to heart and made it my own," Joan says. "All things grow . . . with love." WORDS OF WISDOM: "May we see not only with our two eyes, but with our one eye, which is our heart." Black Elk "To hide the key to your heart is to risk forgetting where you placed it." Timothy Childers "People need loving most when they deserve it the least." Mary Crowley "Love possesses 700 wings, and each one extends from the highest heaven to the lowest earth." Rumi "A pennyweight of love is worth a pound of law." Scottish Proverb "Love gives life to the lifeless. Love lights a flame in the heart that is cold. Love brings hope to the hopeless and gladdens the hearts of the sorrowful. In the world of existence there is indeed no greater power than the power of love." `Abdu'l-Baha ACTION IDEA: Try amplifying the effect of the loving affirmations below by playing soft music while you recite them. Music causes whatever feeling is in the heart to increase. Experiment on yourself and search for music that causes your heart to expand with love. In all cultures there is spiritual music that is used for healing, joy and building unity. The style of the music as well as the lyrics affect us deeply. WAYS TO PRACTICE LOVE:
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How can I let more love into my heart? What would help me "take a chance" and extend more love to others? What helps me remain loving when others treat me with aggression or oppression? Back to Top 3. TECH SUPPORT FOR INSTALLING LOVE Ring ring! Tech support: Hello can I help you? Customer: Well, after much consideration, I have decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process? Tech Support: Yes, ma'am I can help you, are you ready to proceed? Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first? Tech Support: The first thing is to open your heart, have you located your heart ma'am? Customer: Yes but there are several other programs running right now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running? Tech Support: What programs are running ma'am? Customer: Let's see, I have Past-Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now. Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past-Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of it's own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge And Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am? Customer: I don't know how to turn those off, can you tell me? Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke forgiveness. Do this as many time as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have completely erased. Customer: Okay-done. Love has started installing itself. Is that normal? Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you only have the base problem. You need to connect to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades. Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error-program not run on external components." What should I do? Tech Support: Don't worry ma'am, it means the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts but has not yet been run on you Heart. In non-technical terms it means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others. Customer: So what should I do? Tech Support: Can you pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self, Realize Your Worth and Acknowledge Your Limitations. Customer: Okay. Done. Tech Support: Now copy them to "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self Criticism from all the directories and empty your recycle bin to make sure it is gone and never comes back. Customer: Got it! Hey! My Heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal? Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everybody gets it at the proper time. So love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang-up, Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you. Customer: I promise to do just that. By the way, what's your name? Tech Support: Just call me the Divine Cardiologist, also know as the Great Physician, or just "I AM." Most people feel all they need is an annual check-up to stay heart-healthy; but the manufacturer (ME) suggests a daily maintenance schedule for maximum Love efficiency! 4. VIRTUE GEMS--INSPIRATIONAL AND HUMOROUS STORIES "One day while sitting in our corporate lunch room, I noticed that a fellow employee had put out a box of herbal tea to share. The next day, another person brought a different box of herbal tea, and I found myself bringing in a third box of tea the next day. This small act of kindness and generosity had a major impact on me. I understood how one act of kindness, paves the way for another and another and another. It just took one person to start it. When the time was right, I left my corporate job to start a company with the goal of inspiring kindness. The company is now a reality and is called An Open Heart. Please visit our website at http://www.anopenheart.org to see what developed from one simple kind act. You never know what the impact of a kind act will be and you never know who is watching and who will benefit from your kind act. The one thing that you do know is that you will feel great doing an act of kindness." DO YOU HAVE A HUMOROUS OR INSPIRING STORY OF Virtues in Action TO SHARE? Send them to Submission Guidelines Back to Top 5. AWAKENING THE VIRTUES WITHIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE VIRTUES PROJECT (TM) Take time away from your daily routine to relax and enjoy this two-day personal and professional development program at a serene retreat center, on Vancouver Island in Canada. Experience transformative activities that inspire the practice of virtues in everyday life. You will begin to learn five skills used worldwide in classrooms, homes and workplaces to raise morally conscious children, create peaceful schools, enhance workforce integrity, and cultivate personal growth. "I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed your workshop. I seem to have come away with a confidence in my teaching that has eluded me for some time. I have been energized and positive this week with my students,the staff and my principal. Thank you so much for a wonderful experience. It was the most profound professional workshop that I have attended in years." Gillian Krantz, Elementary school educator, Abbottsford, BC Registration Form Phone/Fax 250-746-3626 Toll Free: 1-866-386-0253 ABOUT THE TRAINER--Nancy Watters, MA, is a recognized international trainer on "Creating a Culture of Integrity". She is an educator, consulting psychologist and president of Watters & Associates founded in 1997. Read more. . . http://www.virtuesconsulting.com/about.html ABOUT THE VIRTUES PROJECT 6. OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS, NEWS, SPECIAL OFFERS Schedule of Events Workshop Descriptions Nancy Watters, MA, would like to present a WORKSHOP, SPEECH OR RETREAT for your organization in the coming year. Contact her at: Toll free phone: 1-866-386-0253 (North America);Phone/fax: 250-746-3626 ©2003 Watters & Associates
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