The story behind my values
Heritage , Identity , Inclusivity , ValuesWhen a baby is born in your family, do visitors come visit right away, or should they give the new mother some space?
When someone passes away, would you like people to come and sit with you immediately or wait for the funeral? Should friends and loved ones send flowers to the funeral venue or to your house?
When people get married in your community, what are the essential parts of that celebration that it just wouldn’t be ‘right’ without?
We may assume that our way of approaching these big life moments of births, deaths and marriages is ‘right’, but it’s actually a reflection of our cultural values, and other people may have different views and expectations in those moments.
That is the beauty of living in South Africa. There isn’t just one way to be South African. We all come with our cultural contexts, values and traditions. By getting to know other people’s stories, we can begin to understand why they do things that might seem strange to us. Just like our cultural values and backgrounds inform how we live in the world, so do theirs.
Instead of simply thinking they are weird or strange, how about taking a moment to hear their story and ask them more about how their values shape what it means to be South African.
Reflection questions
- Think about some of the cultural values you may have – name them.
- What do you like about these cultural values? What don’t you like about them?
- Do you ever feel you have had to sacrifice some of your cultural values to better fit in in a particular place? If yes, what are some of these?
- What are some cultural values of others that you are curious about?
Action step
Ask a friend to join you and watch the Heartlines film Beyond the River about two men from very different cultural contexts who find a way to take on one of South Africa’s greatest sporting challenges together.
Lindsey Moyo
Lindsey has a background in journalism, online content production and publishing. She is passionate about helping people use words to communicate their stories and perspectives.
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