Our ethics theme has been truly epic! We’ve explored and navigated some murky waters in our search for a better understanding of what it means to run an ethical business. I sought out some of the creative community’s very best minds who, along with our contributors, joined in to investigate and get to the heart of some of the biggest concerns facing our work and lives. Thank you all for jumping in with us and having such wonderful discussions in the comments and at our #omhg chats! I love seeing how we can have different perspectives but still find common ground. Be sure to check out all the ethics post from our theme and keep this conversation going. 

Before we leave this theme behind until next March and dive into Businessy Goodness tomorrow, I want to wrap up with a few last thoughts.

Standing true to our ethics in a world that often values expedience or ease, over doing the right thing, can be incredibly hard . Living our ethics often involves speaking up, putting ourselves in uncomfortable or awkward situations, and asking difficult questions. Being true to them means not looking away at things that are shameful or scary but confronting them head on, shoulders back, chin up, heart open. The core values that have been shared here this month: respect, communication, kindness, are applicable to all areas of life, from the businesses we choose to create and support, to the choices we make for ourselves and our families.

“Out beyond ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. I’ll meet you there” ~Rumi. 

How we choose to treat others is what really matters. Not what we look like, who and how we love, our politics, religion, colour, income or background. At the end all that counts is the how of our lives and our businesses. The what is nice, the why important, but the how is where our ethics truly shine. I hope this month has all encouraged us to think of our how; how we want to love and be loved, how we want to share and be shared with, how we want to communicate/connect/create, how we want to be seen and be of service.

I know I did some deep looking at myself/my how this month and learned so much from the different perspectives and ideas everyone has shared. I mentioned it in my interview with April of Blacksburg Belle, but think it can be said again,  the world needs people of all kinds to connect and welcome diversity, to work together as equals with a foundation of simple ethics. We can start with us. By listening, considering and treating others as worthy of respect we change the world and transform it into the one we want to live in-it is so simple, stupidly simple really, but as we know it isn’t easy. It involves opening up to our biases, fears, insecurities and our own vulnerability.

There is so much power and vibrancy in our differences and even more beauty in the ways we are the same beneath it all. The basics that unite us. The more we can come together, regardless of our differences, to find and fumble our way to a shared ethics that welcomes diversity, the kinder and more ethical our world becomes.

Thank you for helping me to make OMHG the welcoming, loving, creative space it is. My biggest hope is that no matter how difficult the discussion we will always have a safe and supportive place here to talk it out. Is there anything we can’t do if we have that?!