What is Virtue? From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
How can you not like that, and want more of it? 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 safe arms of our family and closest friends, or teaching our own children. So 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 shall focus on building within my own character this month: 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, others as spiritual concepts. 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. December, bring it on. I’ve got my Aloha Virtue List locked and loaded, and I’m ready for you. Rosa Say, author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business and the Talking Story blog. Rosa is founder and head coach of Say Leadership Coaching, a company dedicated to bringing nobility to the working arts of management and leadership. Previous Thursday Column: Reap Joy from this thanks-giving holiday.
