Some say the world consists of simply nature and people. Others claim that the world is what we, humans, make it to be. Truth to be told, there is so much more to our world than just those mundane ideas. One of these aspects is the values. I believe that there are various links between all people, such as the values that I speak of. The values are the foundation of the world. Without them flourishing in our hearts, minds and souls there would be nothing. The world would be a chasm of misery, pain and negativity. All values are vital, but let me tell you which ones I treasure the most.
“Honesty is something you can’t wear out.” This quote of Waylon Jennings is ever so true. We’ve all heard the saying: honesty is the best policy. Unfortunately, not everyone lives by this rule. Some prefer to weave their tangled web of lies, day by day until they get so tangled up in it that there is no way out. Lying never pays off, whether or not you get away with it. There will always be consequences. Maybe your own conscience will give you a sharp reminder or someone will find out the bare truth. Honest people have stronger bonds of trust and unity. Next time you think of being dishonest, take heed that your lie may have fatal consequences to another person.
The concept of honesty ties in with acceptance. For how can you be true to others if you are not true to yourself? Accept yourself for who you are, with all your faults and talents as well. Nobody on this Earth is perfect. There is always something positive to be seen in everyone, no matter how you may doubt this. We must also accept others because no two people are the same and everyone is special in their own way. The world is one large bowl of soup, with people as the ingredients. The soup can’t be perfect if one or more ingredients are missing. We need people (ingredients!!!) of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve all read fairy tales where the heroine has “a heart of gold.” Too bad that isn’t true for everyone in real life. A person who possesses a “heart of gold” or just a loving heart reaches out to their fellows. This is someone who is always there when you need them. He or she can be a shoulder to cry on, a listener to all your problems or someone you can count on for a sweet hug on any occasion. A person with a “heart of gold” channels positive energy and may, in your heart of hearts, be an angel of comfort.
“Ha ha ha! Hee hee hee! Ho ho ho!” The easily discernible signs of the one and only, our sense of humour! Defined as “the ability to experience humour to a certain extent”, this value is possibly the most important of them all. You never know, a simple smile could make someone’s day or begin a chain of kindness. When you are down in the dumps, the one you need is a friend with a sense of humour to pull you through it. I had only one friend with a true, 100% genuine, nearly perfect sense of humour. She could make any situation, no matter how horrible or desperate, into something droll. If I was feeling as if my whole life was going wrong, I’d get those few moments of joy and laughter with her anyways. Later I could always look at my troubles in a new perspective. You have no idea how much those few short moments of jokes helped!
“Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.” The topic of Martha Stewart’s quotation is of the utmost importance: being open-minded. This means having an interest and accepting new decisions, changes, ideas etc. proposed or maintained by other people. I personally get really annoyed when someone dismisses my idea on the grounds that they themselves have never tried anything like it. The key here is to try, try and try again, not giving up after a failure. Perhaps an idea that seems psychotic to you could be revolutionary in the next generation.
Next, a deep thinker…Someone whose thoughts stray out of the shackles of regular jobs, school and their daily life. If you meet a deep thinker you will notice straight away that he or she gives an unattainable flavour to daily occupations. This is someone who can survive some time alone and doesn’t always have to babble about nothing in particular with a large group of people. He or she will dare to be different, stand out and proclaim strange ideas. A deep thinker will bring you into a more detailed level of contemplation and concentration. It’s like deep thinkers have a world of their own, which they enter at will.
“Patience and perseverance have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish,” as John Quincy Adams says. With perseverance, you can fulfill your goals. If you continue to pursue, to attempt, to reach for the stars, your dreams will become reality. By not giving up, you overcome hurdles which may have seemed enormous a short while ago. In my life I find that perseverance and hard work really count. Sometimes this effort is marked higher than a person’s natural abilities.
“How did the world begin? Why are there different seasons? How is a rainbow formed?” These are questions that we have all most probably asked as a young child. The reason we are naturally inquisitive and seek knowledge is the effect of curiosity. Without curiosity, astounding scientific discoveries would not be made. With curiosity a regular homework assignment can be turned into a breathtaking hunt for information. Curiosity generates interest and a topic for conversation. It is guaranteed that nothing will be tedious with an excessively curious person around!
“Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out,” states Paul Kagame. Yes, flexibility is something else: the quality of being subjective to change, not getting angry because things are not going exactly the way you planned. Yet we must also remember not to go overboard because we should remain steadfast in our beliefs. We cannot change who we are to please someone else. Flexible people are well-liked and are more likely to be wanted for a good job (any boss will appreciate a flexible employee).
If you go to someone with your troubles, you wouldn’t want them to turn around and say, “Whatever,” right? You would want them to offer you guidance, wisdom, care, sympathy and possible aid. These are precisely the characteristics of a sensitive person. They discern what to say and when to say it. They can intimately tell at a given moment whether you need a pat on the back, words of encouragement or praise. They will not stomp away angrily if you tell them you need to be left alone. Some people I have encountered make fun of the sensitive ones, implying that they are cry babies or annoying. I most certainly disagree: sensitive people are just different. Yes, a sensitive person is a real gem!
“This is the mark of a really admirable man: steadfastness in the face of trouble,” by Ludwig van Beethoven. Steadfastness means staying firm in your beliefs, no matter what. It is great and brave to be steadfast not only when everything is going perfectly, but when everyone is up against you. For example, I believe that abortion is wrong and horrid. Even though many people support abortion, I am unwavering in the face of their doubts.
Do you remember all those medieval stories of chivalrous knights, who heroically rescued their damsels, running their enemies through with a sword? Well, in this day and age, the fire of bravery is still brightly lit, although not quite as violent as it was back in the old days. I believe that being brave is not just being fearless to those which confront you. I think it is mastering your fear and acting against it, doing the right thing. For example, soldiers are brave, because they go to war to protect the rights and freedom of themselves and others.
“Anyone who has experienced a certain amount of loss in their life has empathy for those who have experienced loss,” says Anderson Cooper. Empathy can be a ray of sunshine in a troubled person’s lifestyle. I call it the incarceration of positive virtue. An empathetic person understands others’ plight and looks into their deep despair with knowledgeable eyes. Someone who has empathy is sincere, heart warming and comforting.
Now, last but not least, what I think is the most important value: moderation, or a sense of balance. Everything in the world is in balance: night and day, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, peace and war…If we overload one side the entire system will be out of balance, it will fail. Everyone eventually learns moderation to a certain extent. I have notice that some manage better than others. I do not blame them: it is not easy to maintain balance between home and school, work and family, family and friends etc.

Now that you know some of these values or virtues, remember to follow them to the best of your ability, therefore making the world a better place. The values are a guide to life; if you take them into consideration there is no way that you can fail the test of life. I discern that the virtues will stand tall, even if all else will crumble. They hold everything together; they are what a needle is to thread, what the gift of life is to man, what the Bible is to believers, what the sun is to day. The values are the foundation of the world.