Eight Ethical/Metaphysical Statements
Recently I have been leading the Building Your Own Theology adult religious education class. One of the exercises in the class asks participants to come up with their own list of "ten ethical commandments." As the group’s leader I took it upon myself to take a stab at the exercise. Here’s what I came up with:
1. You and every other thing that exists is part of a vast interconnected web. What happens to one part of the web affects the other parts of the web. Respect the web.
2. The life you live and the institutions you participate in and care about have been shaped, to a large extent, by your ancestors and elders. Do your best to honor them, even if you don’t agree with all of the decisions that they have made.
3. The lives of your descendants and future generations will be shaped by the choices you make today. Choose wisely.
4. Do your best to love and respect other people but don’t expect them to love you in return. When you encounter hate try to meet it with love.
5. Respect human diversity. There are many ways of being in this world and most of them have value.
6. Listen to others, especially those not like you. You will surprised what you learn.
7. Sometimes it is important, to protect yourself and others, to assert clear and firm boundaries.
8. Those people and communities affected by an issue are, almost always, best equipped to address the issue.
It is certainly not a comprehensive list but it does reflect the values that guide my life choices.
