Unity
"Unity is a very powerful virtue and brings with it great strength… Unity brings harmony, like the sound of music made by the different instruments in an orchestra. When you practice unity, you value what each part brings to the whole. With unity, you can strive for harmony with your family at home and your human family around the world." -excerpts from the Virtues cards with permission from The Virtues Project™
Yesterday was our primary election in Washington State. I voted at my local polling place, even though this election season has brought great divisiveness among candidates, citizens, and our nation. As I voted, my hope and prayer was for Unity-that our leaders and our people can value what each person brings to the whole-that each person is a valued member of our community orchestra, that we each have our part to play. I know I must start with my family, in working to create and sustain Unity, and I will do this by remembering the virtues of caring, love and detachment.
I have seen Unity building in communities that have been working with the virtues- in schools where staff members are acknowledging each other for their virtues-not their differences, where they are looking for the best in each other and themselves, not for the worst. They can pass this along to their students, not just in their words or their lessons, but in their actions, the most powerful way that we learn.
It sometimes seems like an uphill battle, this quest for Unity. When all around us, we hear the call to say something bad about another person, to actually compete to see who can say the worst, we have a choice. We can join in this divisiveness, or we can choose to look for the good, and to acknowledge that good in others and ourselves, to be a person who practices Unity.
Questions for reflection:
What part do I want to play in the orchestra?
What words do I say to help create Unity?
What actions do I want to take today for Unity?
How can I acknowledge others for the good I see in them?
The Virtues Project™ strategies help children, youth and adults develop unity and many other virtues.