Events, including people's behavior, usually have consequences. Events never ruin our lives, only the meanings we give to them do..
A belief is a statement about reality that feels true, but exists only in our mind. It is the meaning we gave to a series of meaningless events. We have beliefs about ourselves (e.g., I'm not good enough), people (e.g., people can't be trusted), and life (e.g., life is difficult). These are meanings we gave to events in our lives.
A value is a belief about what we think is right and wrong, good and bad. Examples include parents should (or shouldn't)... the function of government should be... people should... it is wrong to....
These and any other value statements are beliefs. You can't "see" in the world that they are true. Many people would disagree with any value statement you make. They exist only in your mind.
Value statements are arbitrary and cannot be absolute truth. Wanting values to be objective and wanting your values to be the "right" values don't make them so.
Ken Wilber has summarized the conclusions of many people who study the development of consciousness. They have demonstrated that society and individuals go through stages of consciousness, with each stage having its own unique worldview. The three stages that exist in most "developed" countries today are traditional (ethnocentric, family values, accepting religious dogma as absolute truth), modern (world-centric, the Industrial Revolution, science, rationality) and post modern (pluralistic, civil rights for all, a concern for the well-being of all people and for the environment).
People in each stage of development think that their worldview is correct and the others are wrong.
Author and Credits:
Morty Lefkoe