Preface
There may be no need for a child to discover how to succeed in building character if they are one of the lucky few born with a good disposition and a nurturing environment. They most likely already possess, or at least have a good start in obtaining, the necessary skills to succeed.
Yet, even in such a beneficial setting, they may never learn or fully understand what it means to have good character. Furthermore, if their temperament is less than optimal or their home environment difficult, they may possibly struggle with character all of their life. They may spend years discovering all the ways that don't work before finding one that does.
While it is never too late, the older they are, the more difficult it is to overcome years of less-than-desirable choices and outcomes, even with the best of methods. It is so much more advantageous to start young with an approach that works so the compounding is in their favor from the beginning. This is especially true for those with challenging or difficult personalities.
Successful character building programs should have three components: what, why, and how. Life as a Leaf: Growing Integrity in Children specifically addresses the latter two as most children know the traits of good character but don't feel a personal buy-in as to why these behaviors are important nor do they have practical exercises for implementing them.
Our individual actions have consequences on society and society, in turn, personally impacts us as well as those around us. In other words, we experience not only the effects of our actions but those of others as well. As a result, there must be an overall rationality to our actions and this is what good character is all about.
To be civilized or civil means to bring rational order to societal development for the good of the whole so we can all thrive. In order to achieve this, civility requires goodness, the adherence to principles of right behavior or, in other words, integrity at the individual level.
Goodness is not just a religious or spiritual entity. It is the basis for civic ethics and is an absolute necessity in society. President Theodore Roosevelt said it best, “To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
We must stress to children, beginning at a young age, why it is important for them to expend the effort to learn integrity and then give them the means to do so. The practical work of Eknath Easwaran regarding the mind, goodness, and daily living skills can be directly applied to civics in a secular manner. This addresses the second point — the how — and gives a practical, clear method for instilling good character traits so they become learned behaviors.
Such is the inspiration behind this book. My sole contribution here is to take existing techniques and combine them into a concise secular program for children which is uniform across all religious, cultural, and racial backgrounds. I am grateful to those who have supported this effort, making its publication possible.
— Donna St. Peter
