Murilla, Maneth R.

A13

A. Discuss the following.

1. What are values?
Values are the important and lasting beliefs shared by the members of a
family or culture about what is good or bad that serves as a guide for human
behavior. Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way
you live. No matter where you go or what situation you're in, you carry your
values along with you. Your personal values are a central part of who you are, it
is your basis to your life decisions.
2. Why is it important to study values?
Values have a major influence on our behavior and attitude that serve as our
personal guidelines in all situations. The decisions we make are a reflection of
our values and beliefs, and they are always directed towards a specific purpose.
Our values inform our thoughts, words, and actions. Values play a defining role
in a person's motivation and morale. Studying the values of a certain place or
person helps you understand them and get to know them more.

B. Read the short stories and give your insight on each:

The Value for Respect of Life

This life is a borrowed one and the real owner of this life does not need any
amount of luxury for Him to lend it to us, we just need to respect it, nurture it and
groom it based on our own will and likes. We cannot immediately tell the beauty
of a certain thing unless we spend time with it. Maybe at first, life is empty but as
we explore and learn more things, we will realize that life is not empty at all, we
are just slowly discovering its hidden beauty. The sad thing is, there are times
that we think luxury is the same as the beauty of life that we blindly make it as
our purpose of living. We should always remember that life is not about
treasures, it is about seeking for the one who lends it to us with patience and
sincerity.
Leonardo da Vinci once said that he who does not respect life does not
deserve it. Life is short, that's why we wanted to grow up fast and rush things up,
but we tend to forget the real reason on why we wanted to grow up fast and rush
things up. We want a perfect life but we define it as a life full of luxurious things
that we forgot what life really means. Life is more than just a word, money, and
infinite happiness; life is about a painful journey of a penniless soul in finding an
absolute happiness in this materialistic world.
Murilla, Maneth R.
A13

The Value of Truth

A lie is a shortcut route when we find ourselves reaching a narrow and stiff
road along our way. We tell lies in place of truth because we think that it will
somehow make our situation better. At first, it may work but as we continue, we
find ourselves reaching another narrow and stiff road and we may say that it
worked last time so we chose the shortcut again, until we realize that it is an
endless loop of regrets. It is hard to tell the truth when we can’t even believe or
accept it, but even the word “believe” always have the word “lie” on it, not all the
things that we believe are true, some are just lies pretending to be true and we
still foolishly believe them and pretend that everything is going to be alright. Truth
hurts but it will make us free from worries, guilt, and regrets; lies are nothing but
a trap to a hellish cage of our own selfish world.

The Value of Justice

Justice is what people seek when equality was insulted. Justice is not about
being unequal to other, it is where you turn to after you have been wronged. It is
natural to seek relief through justice when a person is treated dissimilarly. This is
why laws were created, it is to protect equality in human rights and to give justice
to those who were treated unequally regardless of who you are or what position
you are in. Justice is about being just but today, it seems like it is just made for
those who have money and power. Seeking justice for those who have nothing is
like punching someone in the air. It takes only a second for a bad guy to do a
bad act but it takes years or worst, a lifetime for the victim to have the justice he
deserved.

The Value of Equality

Equality is an act of treating everyone equally regardless of any particular
attribute. It is a divine right imbued upon all people, a divine gift by God. This
“equality” is supposed to accompany us all the time especially in public settings
that protects us from unfair and biased treatment. We can say that we have
equal rights, but we can’t say that we have equal power and economic status.
For example, you have an illness that needs an operation, you have the right to
be treated by a hospital but the hospital will treat you based on what you pay for
them, a concept of equality on a daily basis. In a sense, I think that equality is
nothing but an ideology, a basis for justice and law. It is sad to think that equality
is only found when we are no longer classified as a living human being.
Murilla, Maneth R.
A13

The Value of Promotion of the Common Good

Being selfless is a brave thing to do and not until the time you become one,
you’ll realize your life does not only revolve around yourself. Being selfless is not
about being less of who you are rather you are becoming more of who you really
are. It is not about people taking you for granted but it is you who already found
your purpose in life that you make life beautiful for others. Sometimes, your
brokenness is what completes you and what completes other people just like
what the bamboo did. Sylvia Burwell said that we are capable of doing such
wonderful acts and day by day, ordinary people become heroes through these
selfless acts. The root of selfishness is luxury, the root of selflessness is inner
piece, something that we can bring in our graves, and something that can
continue in the living world.
The Value of Concern for the Environment
We take our nature for granting our selfish desires. They are the start of the
food chain, it is natural for us, consumers to consume them because it is their
role in the world – to sustain life. We are the most intelligent being that God has
made yet we do the dumbest things. Nature was created first to sustain
everything a man needs but we act as if we can live without it. We kept asking for
more and yet we do nothing in return for its kindness. Today, we see the
negative impacts of our doings as if it’s the only time that we realized how
important it is in our life. There are a lot of articles telling that the world is
changing yet there are still some selfish people who destroy the forests for their
business, hunt endangered animals for money and threw garbage in bodies of
water. The world is changing negatively because of our past actions but we still
don’t change our wrongdoings. It’s never been late, we should care for our
environment as if it is our own life.
C. Select at least three (3) of these set of values that you think can help you most.
(1) The value for respect of life, (2) the value of justice, and (3) the value of
concern for the environment. Just like how I stated it, we should always remember
that life is not about treasures, it is about seeking for the one who lends it to us with
patience and sincerity. When we learn to respect life, we respect life of others too
thus we become selfless and appreciate the beauty of life of other people. We can
appreciate the value of justice if truth and equality were insulted. You must know
the value of truth and equality first before knowing the value of justice, that’s how
hard it is to achieve justice. The first two is about us being human and
understanding ourselves and others, now it is time to think of the world who cares
and nurtures us. The environment is part of who we are today and thus caring for it
Murilla, Maneth R.
A13

is like caring for our own family and home. This three set of values balances what I
needed most in my life, there’s a God that I should seek into, there’s justice that I
should always learn to understand how the world works and the love for nature that
gives me a place that I can live into.