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All Virtues

<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Attentiveness?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">To be attentive is to be keenly aware of, and interested in knowing for the inherent good that it brings. It is to attempt to understand things in a deep and profound way, and people in their innermost being – their thoughts, needs, desires, hopes and frustrations. This knowledge is not merely disinterested, but attuned to the truth, to the good, and in the case of others, to their well-being.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">The virtue of attention requires studiousness, rather than curiosity. In our era where information and novelty are normative, many think of curiosity as a virtue, but when we reflect on it further, it is studiousness that we should strive for. Curiosity denotes a propensity to be interrupted by, and drawn to many things. It means being unfocused, always looking for the next thing to be temporarily invested in, or distracted by. It leaves us miles wide and inches deep in our understanding of things and of people.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In the context of being attentive to reality and to others in our lives, curiosity manifests as a short attention span, aimless flitting about in conversation or interests from topic to topic, perhaps even avoiding a genuine connection in favour of the perpetuation of ‘small talk’, or remaining at the surface level of understanding a subject before moving on to the next when achieving a deeper grasp requires more effort.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">To be attentive we must be attuned to the subject matter at hand, or to the other person. This means being wholly preoccupied with the object of study, or in the case of the other person, to their whole being – their expressions, body language, speech, and subtle cues. Often times, we are only half-listening to people when we speak, instead trying to think of the next thing to say.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">To be attentive to people is to be lost in care and concern in an attempt to understand what they are saying, and feeling, especially their deeper motivations, and the place that they’re coming from.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">A final dimension of attentiveness to people is entering into the frame of mind of another. Sympathy is understanding the feelings of another, empathy is feeling what the other is feeling, and compassion – literally, to suffer with – is to take on someone else’s feelings and concerns and to become involved in a tangible way with their situation through action that goes beyond recognition.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Like the exercise of all virtues, by being attentive we show that we genuinely care, and are motivated by love.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by Peter Copeland</p>

Attentiveness

"Our world no longer hears God because it is constantly speaking, at a devastating speed and volume, in order to say nothing."

  • Robert Cardinal Sarah

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<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Charity?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Love is an appetite we have for the good in other things. We possess a desire for goods under their sensitive, and intellectual aspects. We can yearn for something for its taste, smell, sight, feel, and physical appearance, or for its intellectual qualities, wherein we desire a person as a friend for their personality traits or virtue, a colleague for their skills, or as a lover for the beauty of their entire person.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">We all know that our desires can lead us to fulfilment, contentment, and deep joy, yet also easily astray into infatuation, addiction, jealousy and resentment. What differentiates the good from the bad is that a healthy desire unites us to a proper vision of the good. Love, however, is much more than right desire, but must lead to action.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Charity (love) is a kind of friendship with the good. It consists in willing, acting, and having affection for the object of one’s love. It is differentiated from lusting, eating gluttonously, merely liking and preferring, feeling pleasure or strong attraction to something or someone, in that love’s objects, its motivations, and the ends in which it is in service of, are <em>connatural</em> – or, ‘fitting’ – with the nature of the lover and the beloved. As human beings, all of our lower sensitive appetites are tempered and perfected by our rational capacities, meaning we do not just eat for sustenance, but to share enjoyment, conversation and care for others over a meal; we do not just have physical sexual desire for procreation, but a desire for complete, total, self-giving union with our opposite in an exclusive, committed fashion.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In the interpersonal context, charity consists in both willing the good of the other, and in being united in affection with them. Think of it this way – sometimes someone will say that they love something or someone with great affection, kindness, and always with a positive attitude, but not with an eye to what the other person really needs. They may neglect to ask whether it is good to affirm certain things others do or say, or they may not truly wish their good, but only insofar as being kind and nice brings them their own enjoyment. On the other hand, those who wish people well, and actively attempt to bring that about in an attentive, considerate way, who nonetheless can stir no emotion in their hearts for the lives of others - this cannot be said to be charitable love in the true sense.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Love, then, is desiring the good of things and others in a way that is conducive to our good, and those of others. What is characteristic of proper love is the connaturality, <em>fittingness</em> between the natures of the lover, and the object and subjects loved. Charitable love requires that we give of ourselves to others, for the sake of the good. It requires both an attentiveness to the needs of others, a knowledge of what is good for us as human beings, and an enduring affection toward those we love, through thick and thin.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by: Peter Copeland</p>

Charity (Love)

“True love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have.”

  • Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Cheerfulness?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Cheerfulness is a virtue that helps us find joy, which we ultimately receive as a gift by loving good things and others. The cheerful person exhibits a becoming disposition toward other people, and in doing so, is able to foster mutual relations characterized by friendliness.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Cheerfulness is not thoughtless positivity, always smiling, ignoring difficulties, or being unfailingly optimistic. When the situation requires other responses, to remain cheerful would simply be inappropriate, and represent a lack of virtue. On the other hand, cheerfulness consists in always endeavouring to control one’s emotions, so as to foster an environment of affability with others.</p> <p class="font_8">What does cheerfulness <em>look like </em>in practice? It is something that is closely related to being joyful. Joy is a deep-seated contentment that we receive when we possess a great good. It is different than experiences of sensory and bodily pleasure in that it involves the cognitive dimension of understanding – it is reflective. We feel <em>bodily pleasure</em> in tasting good food and drink, and <em>joy </em>in contemplating the dimensions of the experience, savouring it in a reflective way.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">The curious thing about joy is that it is in response to something we receive, as a gift. It has this kind of lightness to it. We cannot reach out and grasp it with great effort, like some things. We have to put ourselves in a condition to receive it. How are we to do so?</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">One way is to practice taking up our duties in a spirit of detachment and humble enjoyment. Once we give up our attachments to wanting certain things and feeling a certain way, and expecting them with a kind of entitlement, then we can be slowly freed of the weight of our own petty desires, which only draw us down and in on ourselves.</p> <p class="font_8">To refuse to display cheerfulness can be a sign of self-absorption in our own perspectives, problems and desires. On the contrary, we recognize that the goods we experience come and go – they do not last, nor do they satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. Cheerfulness involves renunciation and suffering. To be cheerful in spite of life’s many challenges, we must renounce the fleeting character of our changing wants, desires, and circumstances, ceasing to seek in them the source of all meaning and happiness in our life.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Cheerfulness, then, must be in spite of difficulties and enjoyments. It must be rooted in a higher calling to love and care for others in a transcendent, self-forgetful fashion. Being free to recognize the immense good all around us and in other people, is a great gift – something that when harnessed, takes us out of ourselves and into a state of love.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In summary, to be cheerful is to open one’s self to receive joy, which comes from seeking out and reflecting on the good in all things. Practically, it involves being affable with persistency and constancy, fostering mutual relations characterized by friendliness with others.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by: Peter Copeland</p>

Cheerfulness

“I live in a constant endeavor to fence against the infirmities of ill health, and other evils of life, by mirth; being firmly persuaded that every time a man smiles, but much more when he laughs, it adds something to his fragment of life.”

  • Laurence Sterne

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<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Fortitude?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Life is full of difficulties and challenges. As St Paul said long ago, “I do not know my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate.” It is one thing to know what we ought to do, but another to do it. To persist against our own inclinations to laziness, indulgence, and our weakness of will, we need the virtue of fortitude.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Fortitude is the virtue that moderates our fears. It pertains to the will – the faculty that enables us to decide and act upon an intention. It keeps us moving toward a good that we seek, in spite of difficulties that inhibit us from following right reason. Like all virtues, it is a mean between two extremes, those of cowardliness and rashness. There are two different ways of exhibiting courage: through endurance, wherein we temper our fears so as not to be controlled by them, and the ability to attack challenges, wherein we confront and withstand impediments to our will, head on.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In seeking to live the virtue of fortitude, we must be aware of the related vices of vanity, and impatience. Properly understood, the magnanimous person is one who seeks to do great things in service of others. It is therefore grounded in humility. When our primary motivations for action are the pursuit of praise, glory and recognition from others, it is a sure sign of vainglory – literally the pursuit of unworthy praise, which is ‘empty, fickle, and off the mark.’ The patient person sits with things over time and in spite of ups and downs along the way; on the other hand, the impatient person is someone who lacks the capacity to endure difficulties on the path to a goal.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Virtues related to courage that guard against these vices include magnanimity, which is related to attacking difficulties, and those of patience, perseverance, and constancy, which help us endure setbacks.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Magnanimity is ‘greatness of soul’, where we strive to do great and noble things for others. St Thomas Aquinas calls it, the “stretching forth of the mind to great things”, and seeking to do “great acts deserving of honour.” It is what we need in order to seek the goods that will truly fulfill us, warding off the temptations to laziness, and mediocrity, which ultimately make things dull and boring – a reality in which we float along in life, numb to the needs and emotions of others, and to the deep joys that await us when we open our hearts to the pursuit of the truth, and to self-giving love.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">When it comes to the act of endurance, we require patience, perseverance and constancy. These three work together to see a set of actions through to completion. It is all too easy to start something, then get derailed when faced with setbacks and difficulties: we need perseverance to enable us to persist in the pursuit of good things. Another common challenge is the temptation to abandon a task for the sake of lesser goods that come across our path as we’re trying to achieve something. It is easy to be derailed from a project by focusing on little ones that are easier and quicker to achieve. We need constancy to help us stay the course. Lastly, it takes time and effort to achieve anything truly worthwhile. We need patience to maintain our attention and focus in the pursuit of a goal as time passes, and we face many opportunities to divert our course.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In summary, the virtue of courage moderates our fears and enables us to act by attacking difficulties, and enduring anxiety. It is found in every virtue, in that it gives us the strength of will to undertake and maintain our efforts in all that we do.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by: Peter Copeland</p>

Fortitude (Courage)

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

  • Winston Churchill

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<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Industriousness?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Work is something we all do, every day of our lives. In some way, shape, or form, we labour to produce things to serve one another, create, and find satisfaction therein. Any productive action for the sake of a goal requires motivation, and an impetus from the person. The virtue most closely associated with this is fortitude (courage), comprised of the acts of resisting and undertaking. Industriousness is the virtue that helps directly with the latter.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Colloquially, industriousness suggests ‘productivity’ and ‘work ethic’, yet it is much more – it entails diligent, hard work put toward a given task, done in the spirit of love. Industriousness is something we bring to bear on both our leisure time and various types of work because purposeful, goal-directed activity is a type of labour that should be offered up as a gift to others.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">To labour diligently, we must do our work well. This refers to both the effort we expend and the quality of the ensuing product. Too often, we think we can separate the two, but this is incomplete. The essence of work is equally about the outcome as it is what goes into it. Not only does the product suffer at the end of the day if done with lacklustre effort, but the worker and others involved as well. In a desire for expediency or disdain for trivial or tedious work, there is a failure to love oneself and others through the work performed.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">To work well, we have to know what we are doing. This requires practice: an investment of time and effort into the acquisition of the proper skills to perform the work. It is not about dominance and showiness but rather a mastery of skill that is attuned to creating out of love. To love well, one must know the good, as the product we are trying to create, and develop the know-how required to create it.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Furthermore, work involves the reasons and mindset we bring to it. Working well requires motivation and dedication to the creation of something of high quality, which involves two aims: doing something with originality so that it is human rather than mechanical, as well as appropriate evaluative standards. Our work cannot be done mindlessly or without an eye to what makes for good work in the domain we’re working in.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Two vices detract from industriousness – laziness and frenetic, non-stop activity. Laziness is not necessarily lack of activity but is more an attitude resulting in depression caused by an inability to summon enough energy to achieve any spiritual good. Our actions are barren when done out of laziness. In contrast, industriousness leads one diligently to complete one’s own duties.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">The seeming opposite of laziness is frenetic activity, but it is in fact concealed laziness. Frenetic activity<em> assumes the appearance </em>of industriousness, but it is the attitude and connection to one’s duties that distinguishes it. In frenetic activity, one is fleeing from the diligent pursuit of one’s other duties. Every spurt of activity needs to be balanced by rest and play and flow from a right inner disposition. Ultimately, all fruitful activity must flow from an inner peace. Therefore, it must be rooted in love, which can only be cultivated through rest and contemplation, so that the fruits of our labour are ripe, rather than rotten.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Lastly, work isn’t something done for oneself or for the praise of others, to satisfy one’s ego – it is a service of others. We all know what it is like to labour with a grimace, as though our task were the last thing in the world we’d like to be doing. Work is impoverished if not done in the spirit of <em>generosity.</em> Work as a giver is the ultimate liberation.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by: Peter Copeland</p>

Industriousness

“Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.”

  • Charles Spurgeon

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<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Leadership?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Leadership is the art of governing, influencing, and guiding a person or group of people toward goals. Leaders are people who have the responsibility for guiding people towards a task, and authority over them in the circumstances, or organizational framework in which their leadership is exercised. To effectively lead, a leader must mold their temperament and raw abilities into skills and character traits that will enable them to understand the domain in which they operate, define objectives that are good and true, and pursue them with prudence.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Leaders are effective when they act on the basis of the virtues, or stable character traits that they have developed and honed over time. If a leader acts on the basis of raw power, manipulation, deceit, or for selfish and immoral objectives, they will poison the environment in which they operate. A good leader commands respect, and derives their authority from their abilities, the way they treat those around them, and the worthiness of the goals that they seek. Rather than striving to achieve simple concrete objectives, good leaders see their goals as part of a greater effort to serve others, help them grow into better people, and ultimately, pursue what is true, good and beautiful.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In order to<em> lead</em> and <em>serve</em> simultaneously, leaders must cultivate the twin, complementary virtues of magnanimity and humility. Magnanimity is the habit of striving for great things. The magnanimous leader has a positive vision, a sense of mission and the ability to instill those things in others by inspiration and example. Humility, on the other hand, is about service. The humble leader guides, teaches, and inspires, rather than acting in a manner characterized by forcefulness.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Effective leaders must have a proper understanding of the goals they pursue. This means having the appropriate technical, domain specific knowledge and understanding in the field within which they operate, but also a sense of the general good that is proper to human beings, and how that good is made manifest in the particular circumstances in which they find themselves. This understanding is not a purely intellectual affair, but involves the exercise of the heart, will, and mind working together. Through the heart, we contemplate the virtuous way of acting in order to perceive its beauty and desire it as the end we seek; we slowly learn to act virtuously by means of our will, which is formed through a combination of restraint and persistence; lastly, to act well we must use our minds to behave prudently, learning to be reflective enough to assess the right way to act in each circumstance.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In summary, leadership is about developing a good character, which is accomplished by cultivating the virtues. Key to leadership are the twin virtues of magnanimity and humility – striving for greatness, and the service of others. Lastly, leaders cannot lead if they do not understand the good that they seek – a task that involves the heart, the will and the mind in unison.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by Peter Copeland</p>

Leadership

‘The greatest among you will be a servant. Those who exalt themselves, will be humbled. Those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

  • Matthew 23: 11-12

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<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Loyalty?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">To be loyal is to persist in a valued relationship over time, through difficulties and challenges, ups and downs. Loyalty is a relational virtue, involving a subject or subjects, who exhibit it to individuals, or groups of people.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">The cardinal virtue most closely related to loyalty is fortitude, or courage, which moderates our fear and our daring, enabling us to overcome difficulties we face in seeking to act rightly. It is a mean between cowardliness and rashness. To be courageous, we must both be able to actively confront difficulties through magnanimity – the capacity to know, love and seek out great things, worthy of honour – and endure them through patience, perseverance and constancy.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">It is these qualities of <em>endurance</em> that are most characteristic of loyalty. To be properly loyal to our friends, family, associates, colleagues, and various organizations we may be affiliated with, we must be patient with them as they undergo challenges, we must persevere in our commitment to them, which requires time and investment, and we must do so with constancy – our loyalty cannot be switched on and off, but persist through thick and thin.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">All of this must be done within the ambit of fostering good through the relationship. With that goal in mind, it is important to remember that loyalty is not blind, but involves a prudential judgment, wherein the relationship is maintained and fostered insofar as there is the potential for greater good to be realized through it. This involves wisdom, good judgment, and sound practical reasoning.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by: Peter Copeland</p>

Loyalty

“Nothing is more noble, nothing more venerable, than loyalty.”

  • Cicero, attributed, Day's Collacon

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<p class="font_8"><u><em><strong>What is Temperance in Word?</strong></em></u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Temperance is the virtue that moderates our appetite for pleasures. Its purpose is not to deprive us of pleasure, but to give us the freedom and ability to enjoy life’s greater goods.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Temperance applies to all of our desires. Gluttony in food and drink, lust in sexual desire, vociferousness or an unbridled tongue in speech, rashness in action, and immoderate anger are all examples of immoderation. Intemperance leads us down a hole, where we become more and more self-willed, and beholden to our wants, desires and impulses. On the other hand, the more we exercise our faculties of self-control, the more moderate and well-ordered our desires, the stronger our willpower, and more disciplined as people we become. Characteristic of human nature is our faculty of reason – the choice and understanding afforded by it and the capacity it gives us for greater forms of delight beyond the merely sensible and animalistic. When we are intemperate, we are effectively neglecting our rational capacity, listening instead to the impulses, instincts and raw desires, which make us childish and out of control.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Many have a hard time with the practice of temperance because it seems like saying ‘no’ to good things. Yet, we can see its fruits clearly in context. When we eat, we can easily ruin our meal by eating too much of the appetizer before the main course. In romantic relations, genuine intimacy with another person is spoiled if we give in to sexual desires before a deep emotional connection and exclusive commitment is formed; in speech and action, we can make hasty and rash decisions when we act on our first impulses, without reflection.</p> <p class="font_8">When we lack temperance in speech and with our opinions, we run the risk of harming others, of upsetting social situations, and of developing an unhealthy attachment to our own views. Furthermore, we risk damaging our own reputation, and becoming difficult to be around, and repulsive to others, enshrouded in a cloud of our own self-centredness.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Our words have a tremendous impact on people. We can use them to edify and uplift, or to tear things and others down. Gossip involves speaking about another person’s private affairs or in spreading rumours about people; detraction involves speaking of another’s faults without good reason, without them knowing, and in public; and backbiting is more subtle, aimed at undermining a person’s reputation in a clandestine manner, through private conversation. Calumny, libel and slander all involve telling lies about another’s character, so as to bring them harm.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Humility is the antidote to intemperance, which is rooted in the pride of not wanting to wait, to listen, and use reason. It moderates our appetites, through the adoption of a modest and meek disposition. From the root word <em>humus, </em>it literally means being low to the ground. Humility can be incredibly difficult to foster, but we may do so over time by accepting humiliations, obeying our legitimate superiors and those in our life to whom we are responsible and owe our time and concern, fostering a healthy distrust of our immediate response to things, acknowledging that we are each of us, but one of many people in this world; and by calling to mind the virtues and gifts of others.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">In summary, the fruits of temperance are many. Temperance gives us a kind of freedom from an enslavement to our raw instincts that when harnessed, lead to higher forms of enjoyment and fulfillment, in all spheres of life.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Written by Peter Copeland</p>

Temperance

“Temperance is a tree which has for its root very little contentment, and for its fruit calm and peace.”

  • Gautama Buddha

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