Virtue - Conculsions

There are many worthy moral principles of which one can live there life by.  The list of moral virtues is an extensive one.  Narrowing down my personal list to seven was a daunting but enlightening task.  Why seven?  Because seven is the number of magick and mysticism and the number that I most closely connect with.  Seven virtues on which to base my "right actions" feels right to me.  Exploring these concepts has been an inner journey in exploring my humanity.

Silence is for me the foundation by which I can live my life.  In Silence we truly become aware of the world around us.  In Silence we learn, we feel, we connect, in ways that are not possible when we haven't stopped to pay attention.  Silence for me means to keep Silent, ie. shut my damn mouth and listen and also to find quiet places to ease the stress of my mind and heart.  Integrity on the other hand is a more active virtue and requires some actual effort on my part.  To be a person of Integrity I must always watch my actions and judgments.  I believe that practicing Silence helps to supports my Integrity.

Compassion is just something I was born with but it is no less worthy of being exalted to the status of a virtue.  When I had my son sixteen years ago I decided to consciously raise him with a sense of Compassion.  I can think of no other human quality so necessary to our communal existence.  When we lack Compassion we are then able to inflict the most unspeakable horrors onto others.  A lack of Compassion tears apart families, communities, and even the whole world.  We must be able to feel for the pain and suffering of others and we must have an internal need to help alleviate that pain and suffering.  Without Compassion we truly are no greater than the lowest of beasts.

As humans we are in a unique position to make conscious decisions on how we live and how we treat others.  For me the virtues of Hospitality and Service reflect our needs as a communal society.  I like to think on what it means to be a good host and a gracious guest, when done correctly everyone benefits.  And Serving those in need strengthens our bonds of community and friendship.  These are important to me in that they give me a goal to strive for as both Hospitality and Service are very active virtues.  I also think that in applying these virtues to my life it bring me a sense of Honor.  I do wish to be Honorable, I do wish to have a sense of pride in who and what I am and to extend that pride to my family and friends.  I want to be a true and just person of good character and I want to be able to enrich the lives of those who know me.

Lastly I contemplate Piety and what it means to be a pious person.  This one was initially hard because of the unspoken understanding that it reflects a persons relationship with a god.  But that is not the only or complete definition of Piety.  To be pious is to devote yourself to a high ideal, to a noble goal, to make the journey towards the stars.  I have many devotions, all which in my mind are noble and worthy.  I devote myself to my husband and our relationship, I devote myself to my children and becoming the best mother I can be, I devote myself to my Goddess and strive daily to walk the path She sets before me, and I devote myself to my community as teacher and Cleric giving to others the love and devotion they have given me.

So while courage, charity, discipline, generosity, patience, etc. are all worthy and noble virtues it is these seven that speak to me of how to be a person of good character.  In exploring these virtues I have learned what in life is most important for me to be and it has awakened within me a renewed sense of purpose and action.  Life is about the journey, the experience we have along the way.  We can walk the path of life blind and unaware of the influences around us and within us or we can walk the path intentionally stepping carefully as we learn, grow, experience, and become.

Virtue - Piety

Piety is defined as the humble devotion to a high ideal.

A pious person believes in something greater than themselves.  Weather that is a deity, a specific way of living, or a noble goal it matters not.  While Piety is often understood as the constant devotion to a deity, this is not a persons only venue to being pious.  Let's look at the words "high ideal".  Now in the first sense gods and goddesses represent our highest ideal of the spirit.  We strive through ritual, through worship, and through imitation to reach the sides of our gods, to be like them.  The idea here is that as spiritual beings having a human experience we need to nurture the connection our spirit has to the divine, in whatever form we believe that to be.

The next "high ideal" could be achieved by choosing a specific way of living our lives.  This may or may not coincide with devotion to the gods.  People who choose to live "green" lives devote themselves to conservation of the planet and a healthier more natural way to live.  They humble themselves before their ideal of the right life every single day.  Their devotion becomes their sustenance and they are pious to their high ideal.

The third act of Piety can be achieved by having and journeying towards a noble goal.  A noble goal is one in which we believe that by attaining it we will have served others and become a better person because of it.  A great example of this is the Peace Corps.  When someone joins the Peace Corps they are setting themselves on the noble path of service and devoting their time and energy to helping others.  This humble devotion to service enriches their lives and they become pious in their cause.

Piety is the pure state of our hearts.  It is humble, it is selfless, and it hard yet rewarding work.  One does not gain Piety by sitting around on their butt thinking, I love my god.  One becomes pious by acting on their high ideals.  You must do more than feel you must also move and take action.  Only through active devotion and service can our heart, minds, and spirits lift us to a place of peace and love.  If you believe in something so wonderful and great then don't go out proclaim it's greatness, just live it.

Piety

I will keep close to me my high ideals

I will act upon my noble goals

I will devote my live to the service of others

I will serve my gods by my actions

Virtue - Honor

Honor is the virtue that most distinctly defines our individual character.

Honor is a complex virtue that has many implications.  Honor is best defined by how a person acts in accordance to their own moral code.  A person with Honor is considered fair, honest, and reliable.  Honor reflects a persons true nature.  Whether we are born inherently with a sense of Honor or we learn it from the world around us, it defines us deeply to others and ourselves.  The Honorable person always tries to be unbiased in any situation and gives their thoughts and opinions honestly regardless of the popularity of those thoughts and opinions.  You also can also always count on the Honorable person, their word is their bond, and this makes them invaluable in all of our lives.

For those who truly carry Honor as one of their virtues they can find themselves set slightly apart from the crowd.  They are needed and well liked and can be counted on to give fair account.  This impartiality means that what they have to say will not always be well received, but for the most part will be respected.  The Honorable person also gives credit where it is fairly due and never takes more than their share.

Another very important aspect of Honor is to accept responsibility for your actions.  Modestly and honestly acknowledging both your triumphs and your failures and making the attempt to correct those failures.  When practiced Honor becomes your personal worth.  Are you a person who can be trusted?  Are you a person who speaks your mind without judgement and bias?  Do you strive to be reliable and show the strength of character that other people can depend on?  I think that these are very worthy traits for any person to have, and I hope someday to have them as well, as I strive to be an Honorable person.

Honor

I will be true to my virtues

I will strive to always be fair and honest

I will own my faults and modestly accept my triumphs

I will strive for this my whole life