Category: Virtues

Being thankful for what I have is actually easy for me. Being aware of what I actually have to be thankful for, can be more challenging. What we have, we take for granted.

I like to thank people for the small services that they do for me, whether it is washing the dishes, or driving me somewhere. I also like to thank people that go for walks with me.

Most important is to actually be thankful for all the little things each day and not get upset when life isn’t perfect and there are things that go wrong. What I need to practice is noticing what I have to be thankful for.

I hope you can find several things to be thankful for.

We still pick one virtue a week, usually on Sunday, but I don’t always get the blog about it written right away. This week’s virtue is one that I feel that I follow quite naturally, though, of course, one can have slip-ups too.

Sincerity means that we mean what we say and say what we mean. We don’t have hidden agendas when talking to others. We don’t lie or tell tall tales to make ourselves look better in other people’s eyes. We are just ourselves, however that may be.

I have one friend who says that as we get older, we get more and more just like we always have been. We become more “ourselves”. I think this is true. Complainers become worse as they grow older. People that are optimistic continue to be optimistic. I hope that my sincerity continues as I grow older. It shouldn’t be any harder now that it was before. I am happy to be myself.

Loyalty can be to either people or ideas. When we are loyal to people, we help them through the good times and the bad times. When we are loyal to ideas or ideals, we stick to them even when the going gets tough or circumstances change.

Loyalty is connected to commitment. To make a commitment means that we don’t change our minds easily. However, we also have to watch that practicing loyalty or commitment doesn’t lead us into trouble, for example by breaking the law.

Now is a good time to reflect on who and what I am loyal to and make sure I am following my long term commitments.

When I practice Loyalty:

• I am steadfastly committed to those I love
• I stand by my loved ones through good times and bad
• I forgive mistakes
• I am devoted to keeping my relationships strong.
• I do not allow misplaces loyalty to endanger me.
• my first commitment is to the truth.

There are many ways to reach out to others in these days of keeping a distance from others. Human beings need social contact on a regular basis. Even if you live with others, you need social contact with others outside your own household.

Friendliness and companionship go together, whether we are in person, use the telephone or chat with others online. We need someone to share our worries with and our joys with. We need someone to laugh with and to cry with. We may do different things with different friends.

I have three friends that I interact with in different ways.

I have one friend whom I go walking with regularly, usually on a Wednesday. For me it is important to talk in Norwegian and to listen to Norwegian, as well as get the exercise of walking for an hour or more.

I have another friend whom I can share problems with and can discuss important subjects deeply. She has a wisdom that comes from a different background than I have. We share the joy of knitting and can help each other out with knitting problems or deciding on patterns.

I have a third friend whom I mostly have contact with by chatting online. We share what we have done on a daily basis. By recounting what I have done, I usually find out that I have done a lot more than I thought I had. Sometimes we phone each other when the need to tell about what has been happening goes beyond what we are willing to type.

I am going to continue to reach out to these three people as they are necessary for my social well-being. I feel that by reaching out to them, I am also giving them some of the social contact that they need. I hope you also have friends that you can reach out to whether in person, by telephone or online.

“Cooperation is working together for the good of all.” Working together is the basis of both family life and business life and many recreation activities. We cooperate with people whom we know well, but also with strangers. When we cooperate, rather than argue, things get done. We cannot be so determined to have our own way, that we don’t look at what is best for everyone.

In these days of COVID-19 virus and strict rules about how we interact with others, we all need to cooperate to achieve the goals of the rules. In Norway, these goals are to keep the load on the hospitals as low as possible and the result is also that very few people are dying, primarily only those who are nearing the end of their lives anyways.

For a household to function, everyone in it must cooperate in many ways, whether it is contributing to the housework, the larger projects of improving the house, the meal preparation or just showing up to meals on time.

Cooperation is also not doing things by myself, but asking for help where it is appropriate. I don’t have to do things all by myself.

When I practice Cooperation, I:

• invite partnership
• trust the power of unity
• offer my help and ideas freely
• have the humility not to do it all myself
• know I don’t have to be alone
• work with enthusiasm for a common goal.

The trick with determination is deciding what one was is going to be determined about. Some decisions are made with an attitude of “maybe it gets done, maybe it doesn’t”. Other decisions are much more critical and one has to stick with the job until it is finished. One may not be equally determined about all projects.

Last week I started painting outdoors, on a sunny day. For three days in a row, I determinedly continued with a rather large project. Then came a couple of rainy days. Now that there is a week of no precipitation forecast, I have to be determined and work on the painting project every day. I have to be determined!

When I am practicing determination, I:

• am clear about what I want to accomplish
• am committed to meeting my goals
• focus my full attention on what is important
• do what it takes to follow through
• am flexible and persevering
• finish what I start.

Suddenly the weather has warmed up and the weather forecast is suggesting that we will have a dry week. One of my purposes for April this year, was to get working on the outdoor construction project that we started last summer. Now is the time for me to be steadfast to this project, get started and persevere until it is finished. My job is to continue painting. I need to pace myself so that I get sufficient done everyday without it being a problem getting my other activities done as well.

“Steadfastness is being steady, persevering and dependable. We remain true to our purpose through whatever happens. Steadfastness grows whenever we rise to a challenge. It bolsters our will to keep going when life tests our resolve. We choose a direction, then keep a steady pace. We are faithful and enduring with those we love. We commit ourselves to something for however long it may take. We are like a strong ship in a storm. We don’t allow ourselves to be battered or blown off course. We hold on and ride the waves.”

I am practicing Steadfastness when I:

• choose my commitments wisely
• remain true to my purpose
• pace myself
• am faithful to my relationships
• don’t allow doubts or tests to blow me off course
• take what comes and persevere.

As I was writing out the text for this virtue, I was thinking about how I would practice this virtue and I decided to work on how my actions affect others. With the COVID-19 pandemic a reality, I am experiencing things slightly differently than normal.

First of all, we are three living in the house, with two generations, that don’t always have the same opinions about various topics. With little contact with others, except by telephone, we are having to adapt to each other in ways that are not necessarily easy. A little empathy for others will help keep ourselves at peace with each other, at least, most of the time.

Second of all, I have to respect the rules of the pandemic, which is to hold my distance from others (1 to 2 meters) and to not visit people who might be at risk. I have already cut down the amount of time I spend shopping as that is where I could meet people who are not respecting the social-distancing rules or are carrying the virus without being sick themselves.

I can’t change the way other people lead their lives, but I can change the way I react to others. I can think before I act or say something. I can plan my activities so that I respect other people’s needs as well as my own. By using empathy I can try to see how others see a situation and allow for different viewpoints.

“Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in another’s place and to understand their experience. We are deeply present to their thoughts and feelings with such compassionate accuracy that they can hear their own thoughts more clearly. Empathy connects us with our common humanity. It protects us from prejudice, blame and judgment – those things that divide us from each other. With empathy, we reflect on how our actions affect others. It moves us to seek justice for every person, even those with whom we disagree. Empathy inspires us to ge giving and selfless. Empathy connects our hearts.”

When I practice Empathy, I:

• seek to understand others’ experience
• listen with compassion
• refrain from judging and blaming
• think about how my choices impact others
• care about people’s rights
• feel my connection to all people.

Awesome has become a popular word in the last few years and yet what do we really mean when we use it? I don’t use it that much, but I think of the landscape around where I live when I think of “awe”. Even the picture on the virtue card shows mountains with peaks and snow.

Awe makes us realize how small we are, as individuals, when compared to the size of the planet earth and when compared to our creator, God. In these days of being worried about getting sick from the virus COVID-19, it is interesting to reflect on how a small thing like a virus can empty the streets of large cities like New York and San Francisco.

When I contemplate working with “awe” this week, I have to keep in mind both the large and the miniature in this world. I am somewhere in the middle. My actions can affect how other people’s lives are. If I am careless, others can be hurt. If I am kind, perhaps I can help others have a better life.

As the gardening season is slowly starting, I find myself in awe of how nature is so complex and yet so beautiful. I’m hoping that with warmer temperatures, the snow will disappear this week and I will be able to help nature fulfill its destiny.

“Awe is deep respect and reverence for the Source of life. It is humility and wonder before the power of God. Contemplating life’s beauty and mystery leads us to communion. Reflecting on our place in the universe, we seem small and insignificant, yet it is awe-inspiring to realize that no one else on earth is just like us. Each of us has a unique potential for reflecting the Divine virtues in our souls. We awaken them by choosing to live them. When we practice awe, we are alert to the signs and wonders placed in our path. We open ourselves to Grace.”

When I practice Awe, I:

• am humble before the power of the Creator
• take time to contemplate and commune
• am aware of the sacredness of life
• cultivate the Divine virtues in my nature
• discern the signs and synchronicities of life
• deepen my connection to Grace.