Living Beautifully Within A Moral Framework
Get clear on your values to imprint a sense of purpose, peace and intrinsic identity.
Hello friends,
Our new experiment has existed for just one cycle and I’ve already turned these 12 months into a baker’s dozen.
You’ll come to learn that this is very me.
I used to spend a great deal of effort trying to exist in an ordered, structured, linear way, but I’m starting to accept that’s not my default pattern.
Instead, I find ease in approaching life with a sense of tangential meandering that may seem erratic from the outside but recalibrates my internal compass.
This is how I came to spend four weeks analysing our breakfast hangups instead of simply sharing a recipe for baked oats.
P.S. Aren’t we all overwhelmed with recipes and burdened with choices? “Healthy egg dishes” are easy to grasp, unlike unpacking WHY it’s hard to follow through on things that make us feel well.
I also noticed that one month seems like a long time until you’re wading through the reality of life and August swiftly gives way to September. Realistically, we could spend a season or even an entire year exploring any of our themes before we scratch the surface.
But it shouldn’t be that hard.
Our inclinations to live in haste and cram our days with productivity are antithetical to a fulfilling life; an idea that has me tangled in its web, exploring strands for change as I try to live somewhat alternatively in a mainstream system.
(It’s a sticky, liminal place to exist and that’s ok. Few things in life are as streamlined as they seem!)
All of this leads me to our second shift in a Year Of Tiny Change: Living In Alignment With Our Values. But first, here’s an easy access point for our Month One writings.
Month One Recap:
Confronting Habit’s Mistress - understanding the bristle of change.
Build A Better Breakfast - digestible information and actionable steps to improve your morning meal.
Dinner For Breakfast - perhaps you’d like to try it?
The Stories We Tell - clarity on what stands between us and positive habit change.
It’s redundant to say that these focus themes are optional. Of course they are! The idea behind this year is to reduce the crushing expectation that comes from living in a social system obsessed with growth and productivity, and mindfully implement habits that lend themselves to feeling content and energised. Overlay the analyses and prompts to your preferred focus!
Okie dokie, friends, drumroll, please. This month’s theme is:
Living Beautifully Within A Moral Framework
(And it’s 100% a grand idea that we can’t squish into four blog posts.) :)
I’ve borrowed this delightful phrase from one of my favourite writers, Mari Andrew, as it adds a sprinkle of joie de vivre to what’s fundamentally value-based living with a side of “for the greater good”.
“I’m naturally very values-driven, and would like to be more so, in my pursuit of becoming someone who I admire.
The people I admire most are those who live beautifully within a strong moral framework, like my darling farmer friends at Halal Pastures whose Muslim faith and framework drive their love and care for the planet—resulting in the tastiest produce I’ve ever had.”
“In my pursuit of becoming someone who I admire” — now isn’t that the most elevated goal you’ve ever heard?!
When we get clear on our values, and have the fortitude to filter our decisions and actions through that value system, we gain a sense of purpose, peace, and intentional identity that is invaluable amidst the presented chaos of modern life.
Luckily, every experience informs or challenges these values, pushing us to stay honest about what matters and to expand alongside new information.
We live in a culture where people find safety in concrete silos at the expense of nuance, diversity, and the sweaty, red-faced reality of wrestling with multi-faceted concepts.
But living beautifully within a moral framework requires fluid consideration that can’t exist in a static system of rules and expectations.
(I fear that sometimes people weaponise the term “values” to wipe the floor with others’ belief systems. Then again, a value could be “aggression” or “victory at all costs”, which challenges my brain immensely but perhaps is part of the larger conversation of acceptance. I’m not quite sure…)
Most of the big-picture issues we’re facing right now, from the climate crisis to technology overlords, political regression and celebrity infatuation would all benefit from conversations containing: “I see your point, and another consideration is…”
Our values provide a framework for those considerations by offering freedom from rigidity whilst holding a loose sense of structure to guide our feet on rocky paths.
Values are not a hill to die on, but a summit that encourages us to keep climbing, not for show or righteousness, but because we’re curious to see how far we can reach.
They also help us transition from one life phase to the next, easing The Chameleon Effect and maintaining a sense of identity, purpose and pride as our seasons shift and our bodies age and change.
But, as with everything, it’s easier said than done.
With each lap of the sun, I find it easier to embody my values (praise for age!), but I’d like to become more consistent in matching my thoughts and actions.
That’s where this month comes in.
As an opportunity to identify, reflect upon and expand our daily rhythms to suit our core values.
Week One Considerations
We begin this month by clarifying our top 2-3 values.
This is surprisingly tricky because, as ego-friendly humans, we associate our goodness with a wide range of personality traits, so it feels slightly suffocating to limit our primary values to just 2 or 3.
However, this work requires that our words, thoughts, and actions match our beliefs, which becomes difficult when we cast the net too wide.
Where To Start
With many “Values Lists” available online, I don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel on this particular topic.
Instead, I recommend going to the Queen of Aligned Living, Brene Brown, and downloading the PDF on her website: Dare To Dream List Of Values.
As with everything, this is a non-exhaustive list. I would also include sustainability, work-life balance, childhood freedoms, or unflabbablency (!!)
Once you’ve decided on your top values please share them below. This is bold and courageous and sparks conversation :)
Then I’ll see you next week, with a roundup of good “values-based” reading and some invitations for us all to walk our talk.
Cheers,
Jenn xx
p.s. Gosh! I found it difficult to streamline my ideals into two words, but I’ve landed on Family and Health (and will hiccup Sustainability before you leave the page.)