Principal's Bulletin

Thursday April 8, 2010

Virtue of the Month - Honesty

What is it?

Being honest is being open, trustworthy and truthful. When people are honest, they can be relied on not to lie, cheat, or steal. Hon-esty is telling the truth. It is admitting mis-takes even when you know someone might be angry or disappointed. Being honest means that you don’t pretend to be something you are not. With honesty, you can trust things to be as they appear.

How do you practice it?

When you are honest, you don’t try to fool yourself or others. You say what you mean and mean what you say. You only make prom-ises you can keep. Be trustworthy in all your dealings, refusing to lie or cheat. Admit your mistakes and fix them. Be honest with yourself and you will be honest with others. You don’t need to make things up to look good– you’re already good—honest!

Why practice it?

Honesty is important because it builds trust. When people lie, or cover up mis-takes, others can’t trust them. When people aren’t honest with themselves, they pretend that something doesn’t matter when it does or they exaggerate to impress others. When you are honest with yourself, you ac-cept yourself as you are. When you are hon-est, others can believe you.

The 7 Sacred Teachings according to the Aborigi-nal culture:

Honesty is represented by the Sabe (Big Foot or Sas-quatch). Long ago, there was a giant called Kitch-Sabe. Kitch-sabe walked among the people to remind them to be honest to the laws of the creator and honest to each other. The highest honour that could be bestowed upon an individual was the saying "There walks an honest man. He can be trusted." To be truly honest is to keep the promises one made, to others and to one-self. The Elders would say, "Never try to be someone else; live true to your spirit, be honest to yourself and accept who you are ."