The Source is supporting the Virtues Project, an international initiative focused on building peaceful and caring communities. We will publish one of the 52 Virtues developed by the project every week for the next year in my blog spot. I support as an individual each of these virtues, but take no credit for anything other than providing a prominent place for these ideals to be seen and hopefully discussed and, more importantly, lived.

The Virtues Project is an international initiative focused on building peaceful and caring communities aligned to 52 virtues – such as “compassion,” “integrity,” “respect.” The Virtues Project promotes community capacity-building to teach positive behaviors and attitudes and contribute to healthy and supportive environments across sectors. This is an initiative originated with a work group of Early Childhood Advisory Committee of the Children and Families Council and is moving forward with support from the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. We are working in collaboration with the Department of Education to infuse V.I. culture into the messages and to implement The Virtues Project in the public schools. The goal is to engage the community in discussion and awareness of the “Virtue of the Week” in schools, child care settings, home, and the workplace through the media, religious institutions, schools and centers, government agencies, and business organizations.

This week's virtue is Tolerance.

Being tolerant is accepting differences. You don’t expect others to think, look, speak or act just like you. You are free of prejudice, knowing that all people have feelings, needs, hopes and dreams. Tolerance is also accepting things you wish were different with patience and flexibility.

You are practicing tolerance when you:

• Build unity with others who are different from you

• Are free of prejudice

• Make others feel included by reaching out in friendliness

• Don’t complain about things that cannot be changed

• Change yourself instead of trying to change others

• Accept people the way they are, faults and all

Affirmation:

I am tolerant. I appreciate differences. I overlook people’s faults. I accept the things I cannot change with good grace.