In the constantly liberating world that we live in
today, the concern about the individuality and personal views are becoming a
widespread topic throughout the modern democratic nations. Every person is
allowed to state their inner beliefs about their moral ethical and political
beliefs, provided, they bring no harm to others. It turns out, however, that
when there is no one to tell you how to think, and what is socially acceptable
(as compared to a dictatorship regime) and what isn't people tend to get
carried away in trying to promote their beliefs, and forget to respect
everyone's personal space. And since every person has different values that
they pursue in life, it is only fair that I speak of mine.
I must admit that at the point where I am in my
life, I have not yet developed a fully conscious ideal of an ethical standard
that I follow in a day-to-day basis. I am relying on my sense of guilt, my
conscience and my feelings to guide me through what is wrong and right, because
I can't allow my lack of knowledge to determine the decisions I make. It seems
my ethical views are formed when I get to know the specificities of a certain
dilemma, rather than following one general track of presumptions and beliefs
(which I find as a more secure, but less philosophical approach). For example,
as a human being I have a naturally embedded feeling of compassion for
everything living. I feel that quality, however, might be stronger in me than
with others. I tend to be overprotective of the stray dogs and cats and find it
a very delicate theme to discuss, and get easily irritated when someone doesn't
agree with me on the matter. I can see how this is one distinctive trait in my
character, and a value I cannot change my opinion on.
I do believe that people should always leave room
for new ideas and be more open minded and less prejudice when it comes to
defining their ethical beliefs. Even though a 20 year-old might not have all
his goals and values in order, there is a good, adventurous side to this, which
will always keep you learning new things and meet new people to share information
with. One of the worst things you can be is a "prisoner of your own
mind", where you let your beliefs determine your future, regardless of
whether that's the right path for you.
You learn from experience and from the bad decisions
you make. As much of a cliché as that is, I believe it to be a very accurate
factor to define one's personal views and beliefs. Most of us judge as a
consequence of comparing a current situation with a past one that has occurred
in our personal life. It could be a dark and sad memory, which has ultimately
defined our opinion on a subject. I for once, had my hand broken in the
kindergarten and a gipsy boy had a lot to do with it, so ever since I have
become aware and suspicious of gypsies whenever they are around me.
I am strongly behind
the belief that you should not judge a person you do not know. You have never
walked in this person's shoes, you do not know what they have lived through and
how they perceive the world around them. If you are too quick to judge someone
by appearance or first impressions, you are more likely to be surprised and
proven wrong about them in time. It is not ethical to discriminate simply
because of your ethnical background or appearance. Many of the world's great
minds were considered unfit for their times and even driven away from society. "Be
yourself" is a lesson that is repeated so often, we rarely pay attention
to it, not realizing how important that is. The time we live in allows us to
open up to the world and be ourselves, to share our unique ideas and connect
with people that share our values. The sad part is, people seem to choose the
easy way and stay with the crowd, blindly following their path like sheep do.
Something else that I
wish I could treasure more is family. All I am today I owe to my mother.
Regardless of how independent I would like to feel, and the times I have been
mad at my parents for mostly irrelevant things, I feel I don't give them the
respect they deserve, for taking care of me all these years and helping me achieve
some of my biggest dreams. I begin to realize that they will not always be
around and I feel I need to change myself and be more grateful for even the
little things in my life.
Money. It's something
one cannot do without nowadays. Even if you decide to live as an outcast, you
would still need money for food, electricity and so on. I have come to
appreciate the value of money throughout the long summers I have spend working
hard in various places. I don't believe it is a good thing to be driven by. I think
the more the world becomes capitalist and money oriented, the faster we are
going to lose our humanity, and our planet. What I do believe is that a person
should find what they are good at, what they like doing- and make a living from
it. That way they wouldn't have to work a day of their life. However, our greed
and what we are being taught every day on the worldwide media and on the
streets, is telling us that happiness is materialistic, that you need to own
things and people in order to be rich. What I think however is that the things
you own end up owning you, and that the more you have, the more people are
envious of you and the less security you have.
I have yet to determine
many of my personal values in life, and I believe that I must keep moving
forward, it doesn't matter how fast I walk, I must not stop. Not even for a
moment. The human being is an amazing and unique creation and many people
underestimate our power. The one thing that I truly believe is that love can
give us a lot. If you do what you love, you will meet people that love you for
who you are. If you love everyone, you will be loved in return, and if that
cycle spreads throughout humanity, and becomes the driving power, we just might
find the meaning of life.
