2-8 May 2016

Righteousness – Characteristic / Virtue of the Week

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

Righteousness – What does this card say to you today?

Firstly understanding the difference between being righteous and self-righteous is important. Being righteous is about doing what is right and acting with morals, self-righteous is confident of one’s own righteousness, especially when smugly, moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.

Practicising righteousness is about living your life your way not only by your highest values but without being thrown off course by others. It’s about giving yourself the right to live by your own personal values. It’s very empowering.

Righteousness also involves confidence, discernment, wisdom and respect. The reason for this is that there are times when others, sometimes including friends, want to do, or actually do something that you may not believe is ‘right’ for you. Understanding this and ‘knowing’ this is powerful as it means you are self aware.

Self awareness lets you know that you are aware of the different values and choices between you and others. Discernment is making good judgement – for yourself. It can take confidence to speak up or take action if you choose not to follow the crowd. Wisdom is knowing what you can and can’t change, you can change your potential future actions, you can’t choose consequences of those actions once taken. Respect is a two-way thing – respect that we all make choices which have consequences, sometimes if we make a choice we grow in confidence knowing we are living to our own values, other times we make choices which have consequences that are not positive unless we learn from the experience.

Do what is right for you and respect that others have their own spiritual journey. We all learn differently – some through watching others and knowing what they do and don’t want in their life – others through having certain experiences themselves.

How to practice Righteousness:

For young adults & adults:

• Be aware of whether you are doing what is right for all, including yourself, or doing what is right for just you.
• Get to know yourself better – be mindful of when you have judgemental thoughts.
• Practice acceptance – we all make different choices in life.

For child care centres & schools:

• At the end of telling stories ask whether acceptance or judgements were practiced by the characters.
• Speak to children about what they ‘feel’ is right opposed to what action was taken – never criticise, just educate.
• Discuss various potential situations which may occur and what being righteous or self-righteous would look like

For families:

• Discuss what the ‘fads of the day’ are in today’s society
• Have a family discussion around the dinner table about being righteous or self-righteous
• Share learnings from mistakes you have made in the past and how it’s helped you become stronger

For businesses & organisations:

• Ensure decisions are made that are righteous – the client comes first
• Practice openmindedness – to other peoples’ thoughts & opinions
• Be aware of when you are being judgemental and self-righteousness. Change your perspective.