This is my very first thread and I’m not entirely sure of how to create a new thread to which I and others can post articles about philosophy and faith. Please be patient with me and if I’ve gone about this incorrectly, just let me know where I’ve gone wrong so that I can sort it all out. Thanks! Dave.
Here’s my first article. Your feedback and critique are always most welcome.
Identity and Self Worth - Spiritual Identity:
Who are we? Our identity is not what we do or what we have, it's who we are as a human being, in a spiritual sense. When you look in the mirror what do you see and how does it make you feel? Are you content, or do you wish for something or someone different? If so, the following may help. Life is much more than what we do each day and more than the sum of what we own. These things are transient, though necessary and in some instances valuable as contributions to society. Jobs and careers come and go as we navigate our way through life. Wealth and possessions, material things that make our lives comfortable and enjoyable, are not the measure of our success as a human being. At any time, no matter how we try to avoid it, they can be taken away. Perhaps the stock market crashes. Perhaps you have to part with everything you own due to a broken marriage. If you base your self worth on what you do and possess, you will find yourself on a very steep emotional roller coaster, because your self esteem is not constant, varying due to events that you may have little or no control over. What is constant is who you have developed into as a human being. This doesn't change when your bank balance goes up or down, or when you're promoted or made redundant at work. Your identity as a person is shaped by: the moral code you live by, events in your life as experienced through the filter of your moral code, your interpersonal relationships, the wisdom you have accumulated from the lessons you have learned in life, how you apply that wisdom, and lastly, how you relate to yourself and others. A moral code is a set of self imposed rules that dictate how we react when we are required to make a decision that impacts on our own life or the lives of others. These rules are imparted on us by our parents and other teachers, and learned as we experience the consequences of our reactions under different sets of circumstances. Such rules, which we live by, are founded on our concept of what we know to be right and wrong, which we learn at an early age by observing the actions of others and the consequences that result. They are also bound by the care that we have for ourselves and the empathy that we have for others. Self respect and empathy develop as we grow emotionally. We experience life through the filter of our moral code, directing our thoughts and behaviour. As we go through life our moral code is continually refined by the punishments and rewards that we receive for our actions. In judging ourselves and being judged by society, implicitly or explicitly, our moral code is shaped and reinforced over time to the point where it becomes instinctive, for better or for worse depending on what we have learned and how we behave. On the subject of judgment, unless someone is genuinely obliged or is acting altruistically, they have no moral grounds on which to pass judgment upon someone else. Judging to compensate for something lacking in oneself doesn't prove you to be a better person than the one whom you are judging, because everyone has value in different ways and is valuable to different people. Cutting someone down to feel better about oneself is malicious because it can damage that person's self esteem if the faith they have in themselves is weakened. However, strong faith in oneself is unaffected by unfair judgment. Just because someone has little value to you it doesn't automatically mean that they have little value at all. Who we are then, is the person we see ourselves to be, based on our morals, our faith in ourselves, our wisdom and the life experiences that created it. This can all be summed up as our 'spiritual identity'. It is the one thing about us that when fully developed, remains constant in the sea of change that is our lives. It is independent of how we make our living, what we possess, our memberships, and all of the other things that fluctuate around us. Basing your identity and sense of value on something that is consistent creates a positive mindset that can be maintained regardless of what life throws your way. Such a state of mind gives you the resilience necessary to thrive despite the many difficulties you will encounter in life, and it will endure for the rest of your life. That's true value.
David Vitali 2017.
Here’s my first article. Your feedback and critique are always most welcome.
Identity and Self Worth - Spiritual Identity:
Who are we? Our identity is not what we do or what we have, it's who we are as a human being, in a spiritual sense. When you look in the mirror what do you see and how does it make you feel? Are you content, or do you wish for something or someone different? If so, the following may help. Life is much more than what we do each day and more than the sum of what we own. These things are transient, though necessary and in some instances valuable as contributions to society. Jobs and careers come and go as we navigate our way through life. Wealth and possessions, material things that make our lives comfortable and enjoyable, are not the measure of our success as a human being. At any time, no matter how we try to avoid it, they can be taken away. Perhaps the stock market crashes. Perhaps you have to part with everything you own due to a broken marriage. If you base your self worth on what you do and possess, you will find yourself on a very steep emotional roller coaster, because your self esteem is not constant, varying due to events that you may have little or no control over. What is constant is who you have developed into as a human being. This doesn't change when your bank balance goes up or down, or when you're promoted or made redundant at work. Your identity as a person is shaped by: the moral code you live by, events in your life as experienced through the filter of your moral code, your interpersonal relationships, the wisdom you have accumulated from the lessons you have learned in life, how you apply that wisdom, and lastly, how you relate to yourself and others. A moral code is a set of self imposed rules that dictate how we react when we are required to make a decision that impacts on our own life or the lives of others. These rules are imparted on us by our parents and other teachers, and learned as we experience the consequences of our reactions under different sets of circumstances. Such rules, which we live by, are founded on our concept of what we know to be right and wrong, which we learn at an early age by observing the actions of others and the consequences that result. They are also bound by the care that we have for ourselves and the empathy that we have for others. Self respect and empathy develop as we grow emotionally. We experience life through the filter of our moral code, directing our thoughts and behaviour. As we go through life our moral code is continually refined by the punishments and rewards that we receive for our actions. In judging ourselves and being judged by society, implicitly or explicitly, our moral code is shaped and reinforced over time to the point where it becomes instinctive, for better or for worse depending on what we have learned and how we behave. On the subject of judgment, unless someone is genuinely obliged or is acting altruistically, they have no moral grounds on which to pass judgment upon someone else. Judging to compensate for something lacking in oneself doesn't prove you to be a better person than the one whom you are judging, because everyone has value in different ways and is valuable to different people. Cutting someone down to feel better about oneself is malicious because it can damage that person's self esteem if the faith they have in themselves is weakened. However, strong faith in oneself is unaffected by unfair judgment. Just because someone has little value to you it doesn't automatically mean that they have little value at all. Who we are then, is the person we see ourselves to be, based on our morals, our faith in ourselves, our wisdom and the life experiences that created it. This can all be summed up as our 'spiritual identity'. It is the one thing about us that when fully developed, remains constant in the sea of change that is our lives. It is independent of how we make our living, what we possess, our memberships, and all of the other things that fluctuate around us. Basing your identity and sense of value on something that is consistent creates a positive mindset that can be maintained regardless of what life throws your way. Such a state of mind gives you the resilience necessary to thrive despite the many difficulties you will encounter in life, and it will endure for the rest of your life. That's true value.
David Vitali 2017.
A bristling welcome such as yours indicates enough about a person without needing to understand the specific motivation for it. I’m an upbeat and positive person, secure in myself, my work and my faith, and I choose to share of that with others like in kind. CF is not the place for me, and with all due respect to yourself and others, I shall withdraw my membership immediately. I wish everyone at CF a very happy and safe Christmas season, and a prosperous and exciting 2018! 
