Faithfulness – Characteristic / Virtue of the Week
26 October – 1 November 2015

Would you like to see and experience a more positive environment this week? The amazing thing is that it is there for the taking – practice something yourself and you will start to observe it in others around you. The more your practice something, the better you become at it and the more you’ll notice it around you.

Faithfulness – what does this card say to you?

Prior to reading this card I assumed that faithfulness is about being true to someone else however when reading that ‘faithfulness is the best relationship’ I realised that the most important person to be faithful to is yourself.

The first sentence stating ‘faithfulness is being loyal to our beliefs, remaining firm and steadfast regardless of what happens’. It occurred to me that at some stage in our lives we can forget about being faithful to ourselves as we ‘fit in’ to the expectations of others and lack the moral courage to be true to ourselves and our own beliefs.

I wondered at what stage we become less loyal to our beliefs and when we start to ‘fit in’? Is it at pre-school, at school or at home? This is something to reflect on for yourself.

It also occurs to me that when we are not faithful to our beliefs we may create divisions in our own mind, and potentially in reality.

Opportunities to practice faithfulness:

For Child Care Centres & Schools:

Discuss beliefs and where they come from and ask how come they think what they do

Let children know that everyones has different beliefs because of our different experience and that is no right or wrong – just different

Talk about ‘being true’ to themselves and not behaving in a way that makes them feel bad about themselves

For Young Adults & Adults

Be mindful of when, and if, you are not being faithful to yourself – it all starts with awareness

Be accepting and respectful of other people’s beliefs that differ from your own

Stay true to yourself – have some ‘me time’ as when you look after yourself you can look after others more.

For Families

Make sure all family members have ‘me time’ – take care of each other.

Let each other know you are there for each other and discuss what trustworthy of each other means to you – the meaning might be the same but the actions may be different.

Discuss what you have learnt from difficulties in your life.

For Businesses & Organisations:

Discuss the true intent of the business

Be mindful of whether all committees & meetings keep the purpose of the business/organisation in mind at all times

Be aware that people & the relationship is the greatest treasure, not the task – support your colleagues