vir-tue ~ Derived from the Latin roots vir - man and virtus - valor, merit, moral perfection (Google).
To be virtuous is to be a "man" of moral perfection.
Achieving perfection, from my point of view, has only been accomplished in one person historically. Consequently, this person is the subject of the most printed, and dispersed book of all time. Currently there are over 7 billion living people in this world, and if you were to add up all the deceased over the past, say, 2,000 years that would be an astronomical population that has not achieved perfection. Frankly, if you are not a deity in the flesh the chances of becoming perfect are non-existent.
When it comes to perfection it is not the destination that matters. It is the journey that refines us.
I had an amazing high school football coach who was known for his one liners. One of my favorites was "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect". How true this is... is any aspect of life. If we are to strive to be better men (and women... I use this term generally) then we are dedicating ourselves to be better each day. We become better people through learning, understanding, and failing (which usually accumulates both learning and understanding). To be virtuous we must live with virtue in our lives every day.
Ben Franklin was a great American, and while he admits he was never able to live his 13 Virtues perfectly he felt he had become a better and happier man for having made the attempt.
Out of Ben's 13 Virtues I wish to focus on three that I feel will help kick-start our journey towards perfection.
To be virtuous is to be a "man" of moral perfection.
Achieving perfection, from my point of view, has only been accomplished in one person historically. Consequently, this person is the subject of the most printed, and dispersed book of all time. Currently there are over 7 billion living people in this world, and if you were to add up all the deceased over the past, say, 2,000 years that would be an astronomical population that has not achieved perfection. Frankly, if you are not a deity in the flesh the chances of becoming perfect are non-existent.
When it comes to perfection it is not the destination that matters. It is the journey that refines us.
I had an amazing high school football coach who was known for his one liners. One of my favorites was "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect". How true this is... is any aspect of life. If we are to strive to be better men (and women... I use this term generally) then we are dedicating ourselves to be better each day. We become better people through learning, understanding, and failing (which usually accumulates both learning and understanding). To be virtuous we must live with virtue in our lives every day.
Ben Franklin was a great American, and while he admits he was never able to live his 13 Virtues perfectly he felt he had become a better and happier man for having made the attempt.
Out of Ben's 13 Virtues I wish to focus on three that I feel will help kick-start our journey towards perfection.
- Temperance - Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. In modern, civilized societies we are no longer reliant on the next hunt to eat. Typically, the rule of thumb is three square meals a day, and with modern achievements like the refrigerator and left overs we should not be gorging ourselves for winter... on Tuesdays! I am so curious on how the "All-U-Can-Eat" thing started in America. Should we really eat all we can? What would starving people in Africa or China think if they were to walk in to an All-U-Can-Eat restaurant? Here is a clip from Louis C.K. on eating habits (caution for his language, but he describes overindulging so well)
We shouldn't dull our senses with drink either... I hope I don't need to expand too much on that subject. Think of yourself as a rare, beautiful sports car driving through life. You could be on a casual Sunday stroll through the hills, or hugging the curves of a canyon pass. Would you ever fill the tank of an expensive, rare, beautiful sports car with regular unleaded? And you most certainly should never drive your expensive, rare, and beautiful sports car under the influence.
- Justice - Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. I think the pendulum has swung a little too high on this one. We live in a ultra politically correct society in which we are so cautious not to say or do anything to hurt some anonymous person's feelings. That is not justice. Justice is doing the right things because they are the right things to do. Where have we taken the left turn off the moral and narrow path to drive on the cautious, apathetic superhighway? Having Justice as a virtue means standing up for others who can't stand up for themselves.
- Humility - Imitate Jesus and Socrates. During Thanksgiving football I was wondering, "what happened to just spiking the ball after a touchdown?" It seems every player now has some patented dance off after scoring 6 points. It brings all the attention onto them and nothing to the other 10 people on the field who helped make that touchdown possible (not to mention the coaches, trainers, and scouters). Humility is having that quiet confidence to allow your actions to speak for themselves. Do you think Jesus came out of the hut after resurrecting a dying child and did an end zone dance pounding his chest? No. He was the epitome of humility and should be a model for us to follow.
Ben Franklin sure was a lot of things to a lot of people. His actions were so powerful we discuss them to this day. He was not a perfect man, but he tried everyday to be virtuous. Something we can all strive to be better at in our lives.
JP
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