Cleanliness
"Cleanliness can be in your mind as well as your body. A clean mind means that you can concentrate your thoughts on things that are good for you. You can "clean up your act" by deciding to change when you have done something you aren't proud of or when you have made a mistake."
-Excerpts from the Virtues cards with permission from The Virtues Project™
Most adults, when they randomly pick the virtue card of Cleanliness, begin to laugh, thinking it is one that only applies to children. Then they read the card and realize it has more to offer than washing our hands or keeping our bodies clean. We often think of "spring housecleaning" as a necessary ritual. It is not only about the physical aspects of cleaning; it affects our minds and spirits. Cleaning out and cleaning up help us sort and sift what's really important, discarding things that no longer fit for us, whether it's clothes, furnishings, or old beliefs and ideas.
We can also clean up our thoughts and our language. Dr. Masuru Emoto has studied the effects of words, thoughts and feelings on water molecules and photographed these effects on water crystals. What an amazing concept: that our words have so much effect that they even change water crystals. (Human beings are made up of 70% water) What Dr. Emoto found is that negative words create misshapen and ugly water crystals, while positive words like love and gratitude create beautiful clear patterns in the water crystals. Dr. Emoto's book is called The Hidden Messages in Water.
We can see the positive effects of using the language of virtues on children and adults of any age. When we call people to their highest good by recognizing the virtues they have, they respond by living up to those high expectations and developing their virtues. If we call people names and label them with words like lazy, stupid, bad boy or bad girl, they behave accordingly and are shamed. It is never too late to clean up our act or our language, by using the virtues to acknowledge ourselves and others for being loving, caring, truthful, forgiving, or peaceful.
Questions for reflection:
What is one way I will "clean up my act" this week?
What virtues can I acknowledge my loved ones for?
What beliefs or ideas no longer fit for me?
How will I clean up my mind and thoughts?
The Virtues Project™ strategies help children, youth and adults develop cleanliness and other virtues. www.virtuesproject.com
June 1, 2005