World Values Day in a time of Pandemic
21 October 2021 – a Day to Reconnect
All around the world, from dawn to dusk this 21st October, there will be a global valuethon of people coming together to share, explore, experiment with the extraordinary power of values. For the organisers it will be a marathon, for the world an uplift of values energy
Generally, in life, we don’t talk that much about values; we simply get on and live them. But this Thursday millions of people will be reflecting on the values by which they lead their life, and how to bring them into action as powerfully as possible to be part of daily creating our future.
Every day, every hour, we consciously or unconsciously are drawing on our values, but this is a day when we collectively, as a world, focus on why values matter and why they enable us to reconnect with ourselves, with others, with the earth and with all that gives us meaning and purpose in life.
Everyone experienced lockdown and COVID in different ways. But how many of us, sighed a sigh of relief when, lockdown having ended, we were able to reconnect with people; just go into someone’s home, sit down and talk face to face. What had been taken for granted our entire lives was now, at last, reinstated – at least for a while. It felt a quiet joy to be able to reconnect.
Much as connection with others is a vital part of life, even more so is our ability to connect and reconnect with ourself, especially when we get lost. The busyness and demands of life, the expectations and influence of others, can leave us rushing through the day trying to get through a never-ending list of ‘to dos’ until we lose touch with the most important person in our life – ourself. Who are we? What am I here on this planet for? Is there more to life than just the list of jobs to be done? Some of the signs of becoming disconnected from ourself are when we feel lost, confused, uneasy, anxious, unclear.
Here is a short activity to reconnect with that part of ourselves that brings us most alive, our true self.
Activity: Reconnecting with What Makes Me Tick
- Draw a diagonal line across a piece of paper from top to bottom.
- Now take a moment’s quiet, breathe in a couple of deep, gentle breaths……. and then allow your mind to go back to a time – any time – when you felt you were able to be most fully your true self, free to be YOU……Become aware of what you can see, feel, what was happening. what were the feelings, what qualities, values were there?
- Above the line jot down succinctly anything that you experienced about that time of being fully yourself.
- Now again take a couple of breaths and turn inside and allow your mind to go back to a time when you felt you simply could not be yourself – any time that comes to mind; be aware of what you were you feeling, what was happening, what qualities, values were there or not there. Don’t stay there long!
- Below the line jot down anything that you experienced about that time when you could not be fully yourself.
- Now look at the whole picture. What do you learn from it? What were the values within it? How can you be more fully yourself, more of the time? How can you draw on the positive values more often?
COVID is tiny, invisible but has a devastating impact. Values are invisible, intangible but have the most positive, powerful impact on our experience of life and on what we can create. And it starts with being in touch with who we are and reconnecting to our true self.
Georgeanne Lamont, co-author of Values and Visions: Engaging Students, Refreshing Teachers
For more ideas on how to weave values into the curriculum and ethos of your classroom and staffroom, look at www.values-and-visions.com
