Recommit to Virtue: Part 10 of 10 - Virtuous Living Leads to Peaceful Living

Few of us possess this Gandhi-like commitment to change the world for the better, but all of us can personally polish off a rough edge or two.  Our greatest gift to the world is through the nurturing of the rising generation to the importance of virtue in their lives.  To avoid these eight societal mistakes, we must embrace a life of virtuous living.  We are so busy and carrying so many pressures in our daily lives that it is easy to lose sight of the importance of such a quest. 



Recommit to Virtue: Part 9 of 10 - Gratitude or Wrath

The mistake that Arun Gandhi added to his grandfather's original seven is rights without responsibility. Arun Gandhi’s insight in developing an eighth error of humanity revealed that each of the proceeding seven blunders began with what many would consider a human right. The eighth human error added the dimension of the responsibilities that accompany rights. In our self-absorbed society, rights are perceived and wrathfully demanded as an entitlement that is void of all personal responsibility. Each right is a freedom, but if used irresponsibly, will be lost. The synergy of rights can elevate us if balanced by a simple attitude of gratitude which nullifies the entitlement mentality because we accept accountability and responsibility for these privileges. In expressing thanks for all things we recognize the contribution of others to our own well-being and personal peace.



Recommit to Virtue: Part 8 of 10 - Integrity or Greed

Gandhi’s seventh societal blunder is politics without principle.  Principle-based integrity is built on sincere accountability.  In the political arena, those who seek power too often engage in actions deemed unethical, deceitful, and based on personal greed.  Leaders act without principle and assume that the end good will redeem the method of execution.  Gandhi’s greatest contribution was his ability to fuse his spiritual values with practical politics.  His objective was to spiritualize the political through a focus on humankind. 



Recommit to Virtue: Part 7 of 10 - Obedience or Gluttony



The sixth mistake of society as identified by Gandhi is worship without sacrifice.  The spirit of respect is lost when we begin to worship things. Gluttonous spending is now a cultural conviction with little thought of personal sacrifice.  We want it all, we want it now, and we want it without effort.  The attitude of justice and obedience is lost as many worship at the altar of the marketplace where consumption is king.  Without personal responsibility, many believe in the economist’s rhetoric of the “invisible hand” determining and controlling the flow of goods and services where the “end justifies the means.”  Free markets and consumerism can improve mankind, but only if treated as tools and methods used with discipline and sacrifice. 

Recommit to Virtue: Part 6 of 10 - Cleanliness or Lust

Science without humanity is the fifth of Gandhi’s blunders.  We must ask ourselves if all science, and the attending technological advancements, is positive?  Technology without clean, pure purpose leads to inhumanity.  Is the promised utopia helpful, or is production for the masses superior?  Hitler’s scientist performed with great efficiency, but was what they did truly beneficial?  American scientists indirectly killed thousands in Asia in the name of freedom.  Stem-cell research is driving “infant harvesting.”  In these and countless other examples, we wonder, who is considering the influence on humanity?  Who is monitoring the impact on our bodies, our environments, and our minds?  It is not the technology that is negative, but rather it is the lustful use of it that determines its morality.  As life gets faster, bigger, and increasingly more threatening, we must slow down and think about the personal and environmental impact of our scientific and technological breakthroughs.  We must demand order and purpose to ensure that science does not overshadow humanity.



Recommit to Virtue: Part 5 of 10 - Courage or Cowardice

Gandhi identified commerce without morality as a common societal mistake.  It requires courage to uphold moral values.  When we face our fears and challenges, we display courage.  Commerce, on the other hand, is capitalism, and by its very nature, if it goes unchecked, will lead to cowardice as displayed in corruption, abuse, manipulation, squandering, hording, subversion, and greed.  Business has become a religion for many; it is powerful, defiant, and worshipped by devout believers in the cause of making money.  The executive call of “fiduciary responsibility” places an amoral directive to unethical practices.  Depersonalized and debased, executives practice the craft of business, and then overcompensate themselves accordingly.  They tout ennobling mission statements without integrity and without morality.  They lack courage as they succumb to their passions.

Recommit to Virtue: Part 4 of 10 - Wisdom or Envy

The third societal blunder is knowledge without character.  Gandhi is one of the best know figures of the 20th century, and he is considered to be full of wisdom.  Yet, he held no title or position.  He is remembered because his life was a message of virtuous living.  Much of our existence today is embodied on empirical, rational, logical, and quantitative knowledge and information.  Knowledge, however, is not wisdom.  The virtues that build character and wisdom are often neglected in the popular pursuit of ever-changing data.  Likewise, fads and fashions promoted through the media dominate personal and business affairs.  In contrast, a business operating on virtuous intent focuses on placing products and services of value into the marketplace.

Recommit to Virtue: Part 2 of 10 - Industry or Sloth

The first societal blunder Gandhi identified is wealth without work.  In modern capitalism there are countless ways individuals and businesses seek to obtain wealth without work, or, as Dante described it, they exist in a state of sloth.  Disproportionate rewards for efforts invested through speculation and the leveraging of assets, as well as human capital, are the nature and foundation of profitable business.  Gandhi advanced the notion that the greater there is worker ownership in the effort, and a commitment to industry, the healthier will be the balance.



Recommit to Virtue: Part 1 of 10 - The Courage to Choose Virtue over Vice

We all have lofty aspirations for success and peace, but lying side by side are the impulses of immediate pleasure.  Virtues are desired behaviors or skills that are earned through practice and discipline.  A vice is the byproduct of habitually following impulses and desires. Virtues are uplifting and inspiring, whereas vices are generally negative and behaviorally limiting.

Recommit to Virtue: The Struggle Within

There is a story told of a Native American warrior in the sunset of his days, who is passing on life truths to his grandson.  He begins, “A fight is going on inside of me.  It’s a terrible fight between two mighty wolves: one with beautiful flowing black fur and the other radiant white.”  He explains, “The shadowy one is Evil.  He is vanity, wrath, envy, lust, cowardice, greed, gluttony, sloth, and fear.  The glowing one is Good. He is humility, courage, cleanliness, obedience, industry, integrity, wisdom, gratitude and peace.  Son, you have this same fight raging inside of you.  So does everyone who has ever occupied this ground.”  The boy looked confused, and after a moment, asked, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”  There is a story told of a Native American warrior in the sunset of his days, who is passing on life truths to his grandson.  He begins, “A fight is going on inside of me.  It’s a terrible fight between two mighty wolves: one with beautiful flowing black fur and the other radiant white.”  He explains, “The shadowy one is Evil.  He is vanity, wrath, envy, lust, cowardice, greed, gluttony, sloth, and fear.  The glowing one is Good. He is humility, courage, cleanliness, obedience, industry, integrity, wisdom, gratitude and peace.  Son, you have this same fight raging inside of you.  So does everyone who has ever occupied this ground.”  The boy looked confused, and after a moment, asked, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”  The old warrior counseled, “The one you feed, son.  The one you feed!”

Families, Like Earthen-Filled Dams, are Vulnerable to the Waves of the World that Seek to Destroy Peace

The earthen-filled dam is a cost effective method of preserving spring runoff for use during the hot summer days. Without it there would be no crops in the deserts of the earth. Relatively inexpensive to build when compared to the over-engineered concrete structures that hold back massive river flows, these irrigation reservoirs dot the countryside of the farming communities of the world. Early spring rains sustain the young crops naturally, but just as the peak demand for moisture is reached the rain stops abruptly.  Within days the crop is lost to the dry hot sun if not irrigated.

Avoiding the Acquisition Race by Taking Charge of Life and Finding the Courage to Change our Level of Contentment

AS A SOCIETY WE HAVE BEEN DECEIVED!  Playing upon our vanities, the marketing folks have convinced us all that bigger, newer, faster, and safer is always better.  They have successfully sold us, amid our ever-growing egos, on the belief that satisfaction and contentment are directly tied to acquisition, impact, achievement, and control.  This just isn't true.  History shows that it never has been true and the current world condition indicates that it won't be true in the future either.  Discontent is the byproduct of this type of reasoning.  Thinking this way ensures that we never feel that we have enough: enough money, enough toys, enough possessions, enough security, enough attention, and enough significance.  As such, we all compete for limited resources in an attempt to feel safe and appreciated.  The reality is that there is sufficient for all.  The reality is that contentment and satisfaction are not found in things.  The reality is that contentment is a state of mind attained only through discipline and determination.  Happiness is not secured through ease, but through self-mastery.

Meaning in Society

Where two or more individuals exist in a given environment, a society in the loosest form has begun.  Personal, professional, and social relationships are the foundation of this society.  Such a civilization is based upon mutually agreed upon self-benefiting rules.  Basic and often unspoken, these rules define the conditions of membership.  A society carries with it an identity.  Members individually determine that it is advantageous to adhere to these rules for their own safety, security, and collective identity.  Self centered impulses and desires are controlled through the promise of greater success tomorrow.  Once the basic needs of food and shelter are secured, the desire for social interaction, attention, achievement, and attainment arise.  All of these are driven by the need to control, and control of self is regulated by the ego.  All relationships have a common denominator and this is “you.”

Courage to Change

Never in the history of the world has there been a greater time for people to embrace a life of virtue. A life based upon time-proven values can be easily overshadowed by the clamor and turbulence of schedules and deadlines, of economic worries and stress, and of environmental and equality issues.  Virtue-based training must be re-established within our hearts so that we are able to positively influence the rising generation, the children of the Millennial Generation, a generation who will lead us to greater peace. Peace begins one individual, one family, one community, and one nation at a time. We must commit to change;  change that will enable us to see ourselves as we really are, to love ourselves as we really are, to cherish our fellow travelers for who they truly are, and to embrace the peaceful life we deserve. 

Meaning in Family Can Change a Life

Each of us, regardless of our current age, is a child.  We have mothers and fathers, individuals who parent us.  Some parents are biological while others are not.  As a young child, we learn much from these individuals who work to create a family for us.  Despite our physical growth, intellectual advancement, and emotional maturity, the title of child remains ours by the reality that our birth resulted in the formation of a family.