ABOUT THE "CALENDAR OF VIRTUES" bLOG - An Invitation To Examine A Different Virtue Each Month And Post Your Comments

        Integrity is something which has a wholeness about it, a coherence, a consistency or solidarity. 

          A person with integrity is someone who is often described as having moral qualities, or an inner consistency and dependability or reliability.

         Integrity is comprised of Virtues.

        Virtues are part of the natural order of the world and ourselves.  They are a part of the physical, moral fabric of world health and vitality, and within ourselves or our community, Virtues are the framework for a positive future. There are many virtues: Compassion, Patience, Courage, Devotion, Inner Balance, or Contentment.

The slow, regular monthly practice of simply looking for examples of a Virtue in action in the world and in your life builds Integrity. So, a Calendar of Virtues may be considered a guide to a monthly course - an Integrity Course. 

A NEW VIRTUE EACH MONTH

The virtue of the month changes on the 21^st of each month so that the power of regularity helps with maintaining the practice over the months and years. Your monthly written observation becomes a reference for you. Sharing it on the bLog helps all participants.

A recent survey has shown that there are more people with a “spiritual orientation” than a “religious orientation” for the first time in our country’s history. Virtues in the past were thought of as a part of religious denominations. The Integrity Course is spiritually and morally oriented,  not specifically religiously oriented.

THE VIRTUES AND THEIR OPPOSITES

DEC 21 – JAN 20 – Courage becomes power to Redeem. OPPOSITE: Anxiety, Timidity.

JAN 21 – FEB 20  – Discretion becomes meditative strength. OPPOSITE: Criticism, comment.

FEB 21 – MAR 20 -  Magnanimity becomes Love OPPOSITE: Pettiness

MAR 21 – APR 20 – Devotion becomes Power to Sacrifice. OPPOSITE: No concerns.

APRIL 21 – MAY 20 - Inner balance becomes Progress. OPPOSITE: Externals take over. Too busy.

MAY 21 – JUNE 20 – Perseverance becomes Faithfulness. OPPOSITE: Giving up. Loss of grip.

JUNE 21 – JULY 20 – Selflessness leads to catharsis. OPPOSITE: Self-absorption.

JULY 21 – AUG 20 –  Compassion leads to Freedom. OPPOSITE: Heartlessness.

AUG 21 – SEPT – Courtesy becomes Heart Tact. OPPOSITE: Inconsiderateness.

SEPT 21 – OCT 20  – Contentment becomes Equanimity. OPPOSITE: Dissatisfaction.

OCT 21 – NOV 20 – Patience becomes Insight. OPPOSITE: Loss of temper.

NOV 21 – DEC 20  – Control of thought (speech and tongue) becomes feeling for the Truth. OPPOSITE: Gossip, externals, talkativeness.

(These are available on a separate page from the tab over this column.)

Each month a new virtue transition will be offered for course participants to consider.  While considering a virtue transition, one is also asked to consider the opposite.  

Take time to observe the Virtue each month in nature, your community or yourself. Then write your experience in 100 – 150 words about what you observe.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR WRITTEN OBSERVATION AS A COMMENT:

Post your 100 - 150-word observation in the “Comments” area for the appropriate month at www.calendarofvirtues.blogspot.com

On the blog, you will find the current virtue transition listed.

Add your written 100-150 word experience in the comments section at the bottom. Lots of people from around the world may share and read your post!

At the end of the year, we will download all of the written comments and publish them.

 

MY SAMPLE OBSERVATION - November 21 - The Virtue Of "Thought"

MY SAMPLE OBSERVATION

NOV 21 – DEC 20:

THOUGHT (CONTROL OF SPEECH AND TONGUE)

BECOMES FEELING FOR THE TRUTH

OPPOSITE: GOSSIP OVER EXTERNALS, TALKATIVENESS

By Jean Yeager

IN NATURE

            A friend sent a link to a PBS show on “What Plants Talk About”

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/what-plants-talk-about-video-full-episode/8243/

Quote from one viewer: 

“Plants were the first living organisms on the planet, the first to unite body and soul into life. They are the only organisms that convert solar energy into fuel for the body, which fuels the soul. Not only do they convert solar energy to spiritual energy, but they also provide critical components for other life forms to do the same. Perhaps we should reconsider our perspective of them on many levels. Plants rule!”

            Animals can “think” to a certain level. In many cases, their thoughts are in keeping with “instinct” or learned patterns of behavior. Even instinctive responses are based on the “truth” of the environment or local situation. Migrating Salmon, for example, listen to the “sound” that water flowing down rivers makes when it enters the sea in order to select their birth stream.

            Apparently, all of nature is filled with beings that communicate with one another and may demonstrate knowledge of a higher order. When the environment changes – drought, flood, etc. – this is communicated by plants and animals and they alter their instinctive behavior. Their “Truth” changes. Darwin called this adaptation.

IN THE HUMAN BEING

             Nature is comprised of Truth and we can approach that Truth and get a “feeling for it”.

            How does Nature speak to us?  Many scientists such as Goethe, George Washington Carver, and Luther Burbank report that Nature “spoke” to them directly and they “heard/saw” what she said through observation. What they said about these experiences, required that they controlled their thoughts. This gave them a feeling for the Truth about plants.

            There are lots of types of “truth” for human beings, aren’t there? They seem to vary widely. The truth of a scientist is different from the truth of the artist. The “truest” longings seem to be in the heart. Our observations can be wrong or incomplete. Inner truths may be very creative and unique. This virtue seems to depend upon improving our capacity for discernment. Wholeness is essential for “arriving” at the Truth and that phrase means we probably have to travel a distance to get the whole story.

OPPOSITE: GOSSIP OVER EXTERNALS

I worked as a news reporter for a while when I was young. We reported “what happened” which was, in many cases, not the whole Truth. Beware such factoids – they may lead you far from the Truth. Gossip sometimes feels like a “being” seeking to keep people from ever reaching the Truth. 

© Copyright 2014, Jean W. Yeager

All Rights Reserved