What are Virtues?
Of Ben Franklin’s 13
virtues, I chose order, resolution, and tranquility to consider in my life. Primarily, I chose them because I could use
improvement in these areas.
“Order…Let all your
things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time”. To me this speaks of balance. I have many different roles in my life some
are more enjoyable than others, but, they are all necessary. For example, one role is to maintain the
house in good working condition (gutters, ac/ heat, and cleaning), another is
vehicle maintenance, property upkeep and the list goes on. Lately school has taken up a disproportionate
amount of my time, so other roles have been neglected. This has affected me profoundly. The extra time has not made me a better
student and I am not “do[ing] the appropriate action” (LaFollette, 2007, p. 212)
in my other roles. As a result, I feel
as though I am spinning my wheels and not doing anything well. It makes me feel out of sync while things
that need to be done are growing out of control. “Aristotle holds that the virtuous person
must: (1) do the appropriate action; (2) do so habitually (regularly, and in a
variety of circumstances); (3) enjoy acting virtuously; (4) know that it is virtuous;
and (5) know why it is virtuous (LaFollette, 2007, p. 213). Lately I have
failed on all counts. I have not let
each part of my business have its time.
“Resolution…Resolve to
perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve”. Not too long ago, this was not a problem. I looked at what I need to do, roughly
planned out how I would go about it, and then I got it done. I have always enjoyed doing the things that I
do. I have put things off until I am
doing things that absolutely have to be done.
The choice is no longer mine and have not finished some things I should have. I am working harder than I have in a while, yet
I am getting far less done and I am not happy with that…far from virtuous.
“Tranquility…Be not
disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable”. Roughly translated, this tells me to not
sweat the small stuff. This is really
out of character for me. Normally, I do
not allow myself to get worked up over everyday happenings. I do not allow stress to go unchecked, and
things tend to work themselves out. Without
tranquility, I have found myself being short with people I see every day. I am not mean, but I am far less social. I am not myself and people have noticed. I do not feel like I am functioning properly. And , I am not happy.
I have not been able to
evaluate this until now. Everything seems
so disconnected and I am languishing. I
now see the issues wearing on me (yes, there are more) as interrelated. The change in my habits, although temporary
could have thrown me off center. But, I will
look at my situation closely before making any change. It may be that I need to adjust my routine to
match the changes I have had to make.
Either way, I need to resolve this issue and get back in the game.
~Pete
Reference
LaFollette, H. (2007).
The practice of ethics. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing
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