Values & Learning from Experience

“Values are essential to living and to human happiness,” said Pope John Paul II. This idea is not unique to Catholicism. It is echoed throughout the works of the world’s greatest philosophers and leaders, from Socrates to Gandhi, but they didn’t invent values anymore than the Wright Brothers invented gravity. That knowledge has always been within us. Some of our best-known parables, fables and works of art are based on human beings’ struggles to live true to their values. Even children’s books, such as the Harry Potter series, contain the subtext of living true to values.

My own journey into discovering my values and living in alignment with them isn’t something I invented either. I firmly believe a wise person learns from experience — and a wiser person learns from other people’s experiences. As Sir Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen far, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Excerpt from 'LifeManual' by Peter H. Thomas. www.lifemanual.com. Copyright 2005, 2006. All rights reserved.

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