Life is a beautiful thing. It connects us all as humanity. It is a precious gift that we hold dear and try not to take for granted. Though life has its challenges, some almost overwhelming, it is deeply cherished.
The tenet this month speaks specifically of how we value a culture of life: “We promote a life culture and are stewards over our environment.” When seeking to understand this tenet further, I found the following quote (from the Big Ocean Women blog) very helpful:
As women, we are the natural harbingers of human life. Because we have the innate potential to create human life, we understand that ALL life is unique and intrinsically valuable. Thus, we seek to safeguard it whenever possible. An integral part of our Big Ocean ethos, “Life Culture” then, is an umbrella notion that pulls from many of our philosophical ideas. By definition, life culture is the intricate network of life-affirming thoughts and actions which lay the foundation for thriving family ecosystems, social ecosystems, and natural ecosystems. They are all intertwined and a violent disruption of one, will have catastrophic repercussions in the others.
What a beautiful, all-encompassing value to hold dear! We all have, within our influence, different ways to appreciate and cultivate life in our unique and individual ways. In this month’s issue of Currents, we are privileged to hear about several examples of this culture to inspire us to follow suit.
Lisa’s words describe the intrinsic and unique value of each life, at every stage. Emily describes how she attains a life culture after divorce, and Katrina shares the lessons learned from an inspiring young boy at the end of his life. Norma shares her own list of daily actions and choices that can lead to life, and Shelli emphasizes the importance of care in our community and how we can lift each other up.
Hopefully after reading these articles, we will each feel a renewed desire to promote a life culture in our own sphere.
