A preface;
On the first of December three years ago, I wrote an article called My Aloha Virtue List. It held brief descriptions of how I defined hope, freedom, humor, prayer, vitality, wonder, trust, faith, grace, gratitude, joy and peace as virtues. The article quickly became the most frequently visited posting I had ever written for ManagingWithAloha.com and by month’s end I added its link to the site’s in-residence listing of the nineteen values of Managing with Aloha to give My Aloha Virtue List the parking spot it seemed to have earned for itself!
Each November since, I have read the article again as I prepare for our next Ho‘ohana value study to come, remembering how perfect the seasonal mood of December seemed for the list at the time, and quickly deciding it is again a great time to revisit these twelve virtues. They shine so brightly, with a positive enthusiasm of all that is good about the season, sort of a “Twelve Rays of Christmas” in a MWA values meets virtues meant-for-December tradition.
Welcome to December 2008:
We make our own rules here, and always with an outlook of positive expectancy, right? So for our “value of the month” we are starring the Twelve Aloha Virtues.To kick things off, here is a newly edited version of My Aloha Virtue List.
Virtue is not a word we hear all that much; it’s not a thought that crops up in the regularity and routine of our days. Well, I propose that we again consider Virtue as an aloha-filled theme for the coming month. A new habit to keep. A list to make and check off twice. Today is December 1st and the day presents itself as a perfect time to live within virtuous thoughts. The holiday season frames it wonderfully, and after the year I can imagine you’ve had, you deserve this. We all do.
What is Virtue?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
“Virtue is the habitual, well-established, readiness or disposition of man’s powers directing them to some goodness of act. Virtue is the moral excellence of a man or a woman … as applied to humans, a virtue is a good character trait.”
How can you not like that, and want more of it?
Your character emerges from the deep inner weavings of your values, your spirit, and your instinctual emotional well-being: It is flushed out and propelled toward others on the vibrations of your good intentions. Indeed, the virtues you choose to practice were in fact chosen by your “moral excellence.”
Once he saw a youth blushing, and addressed him, "Courage, my boy; that is the complexion of virtue."
~ Laertius Diogenes
Diogenes encourages courage. Why? When? Morality can be a tough thing to get our arms around at times, for we are living in an age where we tend to be politically correct and play it safe. We can get reticent when talking about virtue and morality unless we are in the comfortable arms of our family and closest friends, or taking the leap in teaching our own children. So while you will see that I cannot separate my own faith from my list, my effort today is to package virtue for us a bit in some ready-for-December goodness we can all share more openly.
You can visit Wikipedia if you’d like more background on the four classic Western or Islamic “cardinal” virtues and so on. I present to you my Aloha Virtue List, admittedly taken with full liberty simply because I feel it’s a great way to welcome December’s promise with open arms. This is the “moral excellence” I know is undeniably me, and I shall focus on building it ever-stronger within my own character this month:
Hope. Hope is such a beautiful thing. It is an attitude about the best of possibility becoming real. Hope looks at all the good that is true about the present and assumes it will ho‘omau, be perpetuated into our future — and then some.
Freedom. Something we take for granted much too much. Think of all the ways you are unshackled and free to make your choices, and it becomes clear that most of us know no other way to live. Within virtue, we set our hearts free.
Humor. Speaking of hearts, this comes from Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Laughter fills the holidays, and no one can tell me our ability to laugh at ourselves is not character-building and virtuous.
Prayer. There is so much comfort in the thought that Someone bigger than ourselves may be listening, and may care. There is comfort knowing we always have Someone to talk to about anything and everything. I do not shy from admitting I can use those comforts.
Vitality. There is a fire that burns within us during the holidays. Give in and let it burn up any stress, replacing it with enthusiastic and eager energy. Zip. Zeal. Zest. All vitally and dynamically virtuous.
Wonder. To have an inner capacity that can always make room for awe and wonder is such a blessing. To return to child-like innocence and acceptance, to be rendered speechless, and have it feel good and right, never helpless. To not have all the answers but feel it is perfectly fine not to, to just have wonder.
Trust. We can wonder because we can trust. People tend to be kind of needy, and that’s okay. When we need others we learn to trust and be trustworthy in our relationship building. We learn to love more. We learn to have faith in each other. We cultivate magnetic attractions to good intention.
Faith. I have some trouble with the concept of fate, but I do believe in having faith as something that empowers us to create our own destiny. There is faith in the divine and the spiritual, faith in others and in self, faith that good will always defeat evil — I choose to believe in every variety and aspect of it.
Grace. This is one of my favorite words, and oddly, because I can’t define it well. However I don’t need to, because its goodness just is. I can only wish I feel it more, experience it more, and give it more. I once heard grace called “unmerited favor” and I love that. I want to be gracious, always.
Gratitude. There may be no mightier force in our lives than learning to live in thankfulness for all we are and all we have been given. An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of aloha; The breath of life within you is meant to be shared in appreciation, thankfulness, and gratitude.
Joy. Happiness with more than contentment. Happiness with bliss and euphoria. Silliness without self-consciousness. The holidays are so perfect for splashes of joy in color, in song, in tinsel and texture, even in the scents that fill the air. But most of all, in people’s faces.
Peace. If we sow the seeds of virtue, we cultivate fertile ground for peace. If we seek to understand and not condemn, to take the high road versus get even, we uncover how alike we are much more than we are different. We all want peace.
All nouns begging our action to make them verbs.
I suppose it’s possible to have some debate about the semantics of these. Some may think of them as values, others as principles.
Blame this list on me. I welcome their association with Virtue, for I’ll take the self-imposed quest for more “moral excellence” willingly; I want to make my way toward that “goodness of act.” Doing so is part of managing Life with aloha.
This month, I invite you to accompany me on my virtue study, or better yet, embark on your own. Write your list, and share any additions you include with us! I would love to hear about them.
December, bring it on. You sure got here fast, but we’ve got my Aloha Virtue List locked and loaded, and we’re ready for you.
This December, Value your Month, and Value your Life, right here with us on Managing with Aloha Coaching.
Will you join me? The best way is to get the email alerts directly into your inbox:
(Ho‘ohiki; my promise to you: I will respect your privacy, and never share your email address with anyone.)
We will Ho‘ohana together, Kākou.
~Rosa
In December and always, Rosa, I am very thankful for a self-giving mother who modeled all of these in her life. In many ways, because these virtues were the very essence of her fiber, I embrace them as well, but remain a life-long learner in each capacity. With a little risk-taking and adventure blended into the mix, it makes for a very fulfilling life.
I truly appreciate you and your work.
Posted by: Robyn McMaster | December 01, 2008 at 05:58 AM
What a blessing for you Robyn, your mother sounds like an extraordinary woman, and it is readily apparent what an influence she was on you - not just with the graciousness of this comment, but in all your writing.
Virtues do seem to challenge us in a bigger way, don't they. With all my every-day Ho'ohana concentration on values I still must admit they don't quite make it to that extra higher place of completely virtuous behavior. We do admit that good values can err in not-so-good interpretations, but not so with virtues; they are good and only good, and thus aspiring to them readily aligns with the lifelong learning you speak of.
Ah, and risk-taking; how right you are!
Mahalo nui loa for your visit and generosity in commenting today Robyn.
Posted by: Rosa Say | December 01, 2008 at 01:53 PM