It sounds impossible or childish to
speak of virtues. And, then to ask how we might SEE or SIGHT a virtue? Really? Seeing a virtue in the world? Is
this Sunday School question? Seeing a virtue in action is not something an
adult in this day and age might even seriously consider in my neighborhood.
Yet, despite the apparent
ridiculous nature of the idea of seeing random acts of virtue, I have just set
up a blog for a Calendar of Virtues. It is a monthly exercise aimed at
getting people to stop by, get the monthly virtue transition, then look around and see
if it appears in the world or in our lives.
Here is what happens if you set
aside your quite natural and quite intellectually correct assumptions about how
the world works – and how things appear.
First, visit the blog between now and August 20 and you’ll see:
The
Virtue for July 21 – August 20 is: THE VIRTUE OF COMPASSION LEADS
TO FREEDOM
OPPOSITE: HEARTLESSNESS
The virtues change on the 21st of each month.
Here’s what happened to me: I was thinking that it is impossible
for this virtue – COMPASSION - (or ANY
virtue) to appear at all. How can a virtue appear?
Then a flyer came through the mail about a summer, local, free
lunch program for kids 18 – years and younger – because school lunch programs
are done for the school year – none for summer.
Bingo, bango, bongo – right on cue – Compassion. Interesting. How did life do that?
Did it lead to freedom? Well, yeah! Freedom from want. Freedom
from hunger. Parents working three jobs got a little freedom.
But, doesn’t a virtue sometimes
not work out so well?
I thought about people who have great compassion and care
for someone; show GREAT compassion, so much compassion that they have to sacrifice
their personal freedom.
The people who care for someone many times sacrifice their
freedom; through compassion. But, many
times the sacrifice of one leads to freedom
for the other for whom they care – freedom from pain, maybe; freedom from
loneliness, certainly; freedom to focus on recovery.
An example from nature:
momma birds have compassion (or duty), built in by Mother Nature.
In the birdie’s case, Momma’s compassion, getting the worms,
day-after-day eventually leads to a nest full of fledglings and then…
Bingo-Bango-Bongo – flight! Yeah! Freedom!
I – n – t – e - r- e – s –
t – I – n – g!
How about the opposite? Heartlessness? No prob! I got a whole election season and TV
news for that. And that leads to freedom to use the off button on that baby!
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