December 6, 2011

Brilliant red feathers
flicker, fling seed and seed hulls.
Cardinal virtue.

Virtue resides in our everyday actions, not in our greatest feats; in what we are doing, not in what we hope to do.  Virtue is how I am now with myself and with others in all the everyday things I do.

As a simple example, I will use eating.  We all eat and, unless we are fasting, it is an everyday action.  For myself, first I must ask: What food do I provide?  Is it nourishing?  Is it purposeful?  If one is not virtuous towards oneself, it becomes quite difficult to be virtuous where others are involved.  For other people and pets, I must ask: What food do I provide others?  Will it promote their health and well-being?  For other life, I must ask: Do I partake of the food I eat mindfully?  To survive, I must ask other life to give of itself.  Do I honor that supreme sacrifice by making the most of the energy and nutrients this sacrificed life has given?  Do I waste any of these offerings?  Am I aware of what I am doing when I eat?

Eating is an everyday action where virtue may reside.  But virtue must be born in my heart and come to fruition in my actions.