SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

I remember her as a teacher who had the special gift of being able to say things in a way that stayed in the heart. Her advice was not just school advice, it was life advice. 

Lilijana is no longer dewy-eyed, but her step is still bouncy and her gaze is clear and curious. She loves her place, her country and its people. "Values are the foundation. Respect is the beginning of everything; of relationships and of community," she believes.

As we talk, he recalls the pre-holiday period - the day before a national holiday. She walked along the familiar path past the old school and church, looking at the houses. Only a few had flags on them. "They used to fly on every house, but today... Maybe people today are no longer aware of what a symbol means, what respect for the country means, for history," she tells me. "We always fly the flag proudly at our house on national holidays. That's the way it should be."

The path led her further to a park, where she spotted two children. They were standing under a mighty lime tree, eating chocolate and laughing. Lilijana slowed down and saw one of them simply drop the chocolate wrapper on the ground. She walked over and reminded them, "You guys forgot to pick up the trash. The paper goes in the bin." One of them rolled his eyes. "What do you care?" He replied. 

Lilijana recalls how sometimes a remark by an elder was taken without comment. But to do that, we have to have respect for the place we live in, for others and for ourselves. "The world does not change instantly, but gradually, through the small actions of each individual. Even when someone picks up a piece of paper, even if it's not theirs. When someone respects the word of an elder, even if they might overhear it. When someone puts up a flag on a holiday because they feel it means something." 

Liliana's story reminded me of how important it is that we as a society are able to instil the value of respect in our children; not just through words, but also through actions. Education does not begin and end at school. It begins at home, in the street ... If we want our children to respect other people, rules, nature and the country, we adults must first respect them. We need to show them, not just tell them. We learn by example. Values bind us together, and only when we understand and live this can we say we have done something good for the future of all of us and our successors. 

Maja Grošelj