Objectives:
- Understand that values are formed from external and internal drives of an individual
- Explore one’s own value system
This chapter was an exploration of the values that I hold in highest regard and of where those values come from. The artifact below required us to list out our values in descending rank of importance and then write a reflection on how those values were exhibited throughout our day. We were asked to do so after that week’s assigned reading on the six areas our values comes from.
Artifact:
Family
Enjoyment
Service
Creativity
Wisdom
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Integrity
Expertness
Prestige
Security
Independence
Loyalty
Personal Development
Personal Accomplishment
Health
Friendship
Power
Leadership
Wealth
Location
Community
Most of my day today was devoted to homework, but on a small scale, I think I stuck to my top 5 values very well. I spent time with my sister, who thankfully goes to school at the University of Oregon with me. We ate breakfast together and enjoyed our time together. I also scheduled time for my own enjoyment: reading and watching football so that my day was not solely work. I helped my sister and my girlfriend with some of their chores and their work, and though this is not the large scale service I ultimately want to devote myself too, in the parameters of the day, it fits the mold. Finally, I think in doing my work, I was able to grow creatively and in terms of wisdom. Just forcing myself to work and to perform helps me hone in on these values.
I doubt whether any of my values rose completely separate from the lessons I learned from my family, and I have a hard time arguing that any value is not valid. Even in this list of twenty beliefs, all are important to me. I love my community, and I would love to be able to help it and continue connecting to it. But I think the belief system that I hold in highest regard is the pursuit of knowledge. Wisdom is fifth on my list, mostly because I think that ultimately knowledge is what can help others on a grand scale. I also want to be happy, which is a belief that my parents had a large part in developing. I want to enjoy my life and enjoy the people I spend it with, and to me, my family are the people I get along best with. I still have a lot of goals that I have not accomplished. I am happy for the most part, but I have not even begun the stage of my life where I have the independence and means to express myself the way I want to. When this comes, I will be better able to pursue my major goals.
Reflection:
The most difficult thing about this assignment was trying to stress the importance of one value over the other. When given the fifteen values, I truly felt like all of them mattered to me in the grand scheme of things. So, exploring my own value system, within the objective of the chapter, was hard to do. Ultimately, I decided to take each value and rate them on a scale of how much personal satisfaction I get out of achieving them. This made me look very hard at the things I do to try to make my life fulfilling. I looked at my family, my schoolwork, my music, my writing, and my friends to find which values made up what made those things so important to me and came up with the list above.
Then, I looked at Lewis’s essay on values and tried to think about how I have gotten to where i am in terms of my values. The second objective bothered me at the time of doing this assignment and still does to a lesser extent. I think every value I have is too complex to trace back to one of the six origins that Lewis cites (1990, 9-11). That said, it is easy for me to see ways in which each value has been influenced by all six. Still, this chapter was important because it got me to think about my values in a deeper way. When we understand everything that is behind a value and why it is important to us, then we can find ways to flourish that value in our future lives.
I already took pride in my ability to self-identify. I have always known who I am and what I take pride in about myself. However, this chapter provided the vehicle to move away from “who I am” and more into “why I am,” and I think that is crucial to attaining greater wisdom.
Artifact One – Understanding Values
Artifact Two – What is Art For?
Artifact Four – The Art of Personal Adornment
Artifact Five – The Appeal of Horror
Artifact Six – Creative Spirituality