We Only Pass Through This World but Once"

My parents with all their faults and weaknesses instilled a strong sense of morality; values; right and wrong or whatever you want to call it, that I'm learning is invaluable. We make most of our decisions as part of an unconscious process based on internalized values or values adopted in childhood, and that is why it is so important for parents to act in such a way that respects or promotes the value of humanity. A hierarchy of value priorities based on acceptable standards of humanity and a conscious interest in personal growth is the greatest gift a parent can give a child because it cannot be taken away no matter what the circumstances.

Unfortunately, as our society becomes more and more materialistic, it encourages us to adopt a value system where position, what we have, and how much we make, is far more important than the level of integrity we possess, making it that much more important to instill values at home.

Not to say, we cannot change our value system if let's say we were exposed to inferior influences or grew up in an atmosphere absent of a basic respect for humanity, as we all were to a certain degree. We each have our own prejudices, failings, faults, weaknesses and blind spots which is as essential to the definition of our own humanity as are any strengths inherent in our make up, if not more so. By practicing the behaviors and attitudes of the value system we hope to embody, we can all strive to become truly civilized.

“I shall pass through this world but once. If, therefore, there is any good thing I can do or any kindness I can show, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -- Etienne de Grellet, a 19th-century Quaker