We all have our list of wise conservative thinkers, in recent times Russell Kirk is among the best.  Here are three of his ten chief principles of conservative thought:

QuoteConservative leaders, ever since Burke and Adams, have subscribed to certain general ideas that we
may set down, briefly, by way of definition. Conservatives distrust what Burke called "abstractions"—
that is, absolute political dogmas divorced from practical experience and particular circumstances. They
do believe, nevertheless, in the existence of certain abiding truths which govern the conduct of human
society. Perhaps the chief principles which have characterized American conservative thought are these:

1. Men and nations are governed by moral laws; and those laws have their origin in a wisdom
that is more than human—in divine justice. At heart, political problems are moral and
religious problems. The wise statesman tries to apprehend the moral law and govern his
conduct accordingly. We have a moral debt to our ancestors, who bestowed upon us our
civilization, and a moral obligation to the generations who will come after us. This debt is
ordained of God. We have no right, therefore, to tamper impudently with human nature or
with the delicate fabric of our civil social order.

2. Variety and diversity are the characteristics of a high civilization. Uniformity and absolute
equality are the death of all real vigor and freedom in existence. Conservatives resist with
impartial strength the uniformity of a tyrant or an oligarchy, and the uniformity of what
Tocqueville called "democratic despotism."

3. Justice means that every man and every woman have the right to what is their own—to the
things best suited to their own nature, to the rewards of their ability and integrity, to their
property and their personality. Civilized society requires that all men and women have equal
rights before the law, but that equality should not extend to equality of condition: that is,
society is a great partnership, in which all have equal rights—but not to equal things. The
just society requires sound leadership, different rewards for different abilities, and a sense of
respect and duty.

From Concise Guide to Conservatism

What Is Conservatism?
This is a question that eludes many people, including conservatives.  It is often incorrectly described as an ideology.  It is not an ideology, which is an adherence to a rigid set of beliefs regardless of human experience.  An ideology must ignore conservative principals.

Conservatism is a way of life.  A conservative treats others with respect, and will never infringe upon one's life, liberty, or property.

An exemplary conservative does not exist.  Conservatism is not shipped with an instruction manual.  It consists of natural law, God's law, i.e, "do unto others", and common sense.

Conservatism is the absence of government control over the individual.  The individual decides how he defines the states' power in protecting his liberties.  Every human being has God given inalienable rights.

Conservative principals have been honed by years of human experience, based on reason, history, thinking, reading, observation, and traditions.

The conservative believes in the social contract that binds a healthy and working harmonic society, even something as innocuous as accepting which side of the road to drive on.  We embrace change, but slow, adaptive change, as opposed to the cultural disruptions anti-conservatism demands.  We favor the preservation of established customs, as values agreed upon edicts a binding society.

Free market principals are sacred to conservatives, where voluntary agreement or exchange occurs between parties without government intrusion.  A free market is the foundation of a free, peaceful society.

The doctrine of the equality of mankind and the desirability of political and economic and social equality helps define the conservative.  A conservative believes in egalitarianism where color or race plays no part in a conservative's life.  There is no such thing as "special rights", as such a failing would result in someone else's liberties being trampled.

Conservatism is not a political party, and especially not defined as a modern day Republican.

Another route we might consider for examples of conservatism, such as life lessons, is "lead by example", or be the best you can be in a particular job in life. Even with the most menial of jobs, always be the best, because for one, you never knows who's watching, and there is more than a 50/50 chance it will open the next door in your life.

If for nothing else, personal integrity (honesty), satisfaction in knowing you did your best. This is what allows a conservative to always take the high road over that of the unprincipled liberal.

https://conservativehardliner.com/what-is-conservatism

Yes, I have read the "What is Conservatism?" which I am guessing someone here compiled or wrote.  So what is the name of the local 'leading light'?

As for Kirk, here are four more:

Quote4. Property and freedom are inseparably connected; economic leveling is not economic
progress. Conservatives value property for its own sake, of course; but they value it even
more because without it all men and women are at the mercy of an omnipotent government.

5. Power is full of danger; therefore, the good state is one in which power is checked and
balanced, restricted by sound constitutions and customs. So far as possible, political power
ought to be kept in the hands of private persons and local institutions. Centralization is
ordinarily a sign of social decadence.

6. The past is a great storehouse of wisdom; as Burke said, "The individual is foolish, but the
species is wise." The conservative believes that we need to guide ourselves by the moral
traditions, the social experience, and the whole complex body of knowledge bequeathed to
us by our ancestors. The conservative appeals beyond the rash opinion of the hour to what
Chesterton called "the democracy of the dead"—that is, the considered opinions of the wise
men and women who died before our time, the experience of the race. The conservative, in
short, knows he was not born yesterday.

7. Modern society urgently needs true community: and true community is a world away from
collectivism. Real community is governed by love and charity, not by compulsion. Through
churches, voluntary associations, local governments, and a variety of institutions,
conservatives strive to keep community healthy. Conservatives are not selfish, but public-spirited.
They know that collectivism means the end of real community, substituting
uniformity for variety and force for willing cooperation.

Now the final three of ten.  The book is small & cheap and should be in every conservatives library.

Quote8. In the affairs of nations, the American conservative feels that his country ought to set an
example to the world, but ought not to try to remake the world in its image. It is a law of
politics, as well as of biology, that every living thing loves above all else—even above its own
life—its distinct identity, which sets it off from all other things. The conservative does not
aspire to domination of the world, nor does he relish the prospect of a world reduced to a
single pattern of government and civilization.

9. Men and women are not perfectible, conservatives know; and neither are political
institutions. We cannot make a heaven on earth, though we may make a hell. We all are
creatures of mingled good and evil; and, good institutions neglected and ancient moral
principles ignored, the evil in us tends to predominate. Therefore, the conservative is
suspicious of all utopian schemes. He does not believe that, by power of positive law, we can
solve all the problems of humanity. We can hope to make our world tolerable, but we
cannot make it perfect. When progress is achieved, it is through prudent recognition of the
limitations of human nature.

10. Change and reform, conservatives are convinced, are not identical: moral and political
innovation can be destructive as well as beneficial; and if innovation is undertaken in a spirit
of presumption and enthusiasm, probably it will be disastrous. All human institutions alter
to some extent from age to age, for slow change is the means of conserving society, just as it
is the means for renewing the human body. But American conservatives endeavor to
reconcile the growth and alteration essential to our life with the strength of our social and
moral traditions. With Lord Falkland, they say, "When it is not necessary to change, it is
necessary not to change." They understand that men and women are best content when
they can feel that they live in a stable world of enduring values.

Here is part of McClay's Introduction to the 2019 edition:

QuoteThis short book—originally published in 1957 under the title The Intelligent Woman's Guide
to Conservatism, a gentle gibe at George Bernard Shaw's Intelligent Woman's
Guide to Socialism and Capitalism—is an unfailingly graceful and pithy contribution. With
remarkably direct prose that is effortlessly read, this book is a minor wonder, an introduction to the
core of American conservatism, as delightful as it is instructive.