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ARTICLE

The Ethics Spiral

 

 

By  Tom Coelho*

 

 

The bad things that bother us come from our own egoistic behaviour. Being ambitious is not enough. We must be greedy. We always want more. More goods, more possessions, more  exposure. More countable, touchable stuff that can decorate a wall or be seen on a piece of marble furniture. And, on the other hand, we have less companion, affection and tender. We hardly ever kiss and embrace even less.

 

Every young person, in any moment of life, feels like building a fair society in which economical and social differences are diminished. They know their power and the importance of their actions so that something can be done. However, adulthood comes and we start to believe that the humankind cannot be saved and that a punctual attitude is not enough to bring about any effect.

 

Here lies the paradigm breaking. Small individual actions taken continuously in a collective way are the source of transformation. I remember a Chinese proverb that says: “Before starting changing the world turn to your own house.”.

 

I named this continuous and involving process “Ethics Spiral”. The image of the spiral takes us to something flexible and in constant movement. And ethics claims our inner moral values.  

 

We feed this Ethics Spiral through our behaviour and attitudes, by obeying the speed limit and not driving on the wrong way; prioritizing pedestrians, letting other car overtake ours, respecting available seats and the ones reserved to elderly and people physically challenged; waiting for people to get into the elevator and holding the door so that others get into it before you; trying not to leave the supermarket cart in the middle of an aisle blocking the way; listening with attention to the speecher in a debate instead of concerning about your own opinion.   

 

We could mention many other examples. And you could have your own list and start practicing it immediately. Inspired due to a book written by my friend Rosana Braga, whose title is “The power of kindness”, I decided to name all these actions as “kindness pills”.

 

It is about small capsules created in one´s mind and absorbed by one´s heart. The active principle is given by love with high dose of generosity and goodness. The posology recommends using an authentic daily overdose.

 

The side effects are varied and the studies about it have not been concluded. We know that short-term effects are eye brightness, less anxiety feeling, joyness and enthusiasm. And, long-term effects, the expectancy of a better place to live in. 

 

 (*) Tom Coelho is a writer, speecher and college professor. Director at Infinity Consulting, State Director of  NJE/Ciesp and Business VP at AAPSA.

 

 

 


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