We often wish each other health and happiness this time of year, and make New Year’s resolutions. It’s a cultural thing. I’d like to vote for virtues as a cross-cultural, failproof route to success.
The root of the word virtue is vir, originally referring to the qualities of a real man. But virtues transcend gender and culture, so let’s say they’re the qualities of a real human being, meaning that they’re the source of our dignity and sense of self-worth.
They say that in the ancient Roman empire some of the virtues most prized were courage, clemency, wisdom, duty, trustworthiness and gravitas. We can see the roots of some of our modern values, occasionally expressed in a language little used but still recognizable: clemency meaning mercy, mildness, gentleness; gravitas meaning responsibility and treating with seriousness the matter at hand.
I’ve learned that the Indigenous cultures of this continent hold their own traditionally prized virtues, sometimes known as the 7 Grandfather Teachings: courage, wisdom, love, honesty, respect, humility and truth. Turtle Lodge in Manitoba produced a series of wonderful animations on these, called . They’re perfect for teaching children.
No matter the culture, the story of the virtues is one that requires constant repair, constant teaching.
In 1991, a small group of Bahá’ís living in BC as their contribution to this effort. The project quickly spread to several continents and became quite popular, offered in schools, groups and organizations. (When we first moved to BC in 2003, I remember driving past Lansdowne Middle School and doing a double take at a large outdoor sign saying “Virtue of the Week: Kindness”.)
We currently have anti-bullying and anti-racism programs in schools and workplaces, a necessary outgrowth of this striving for self-improvement. I hope that we’ll reinforce these efforts by talking about what we do want, even more than what we don’t, and by including the language of the virtues in our vocabulary.
Virtues are our real superpowers. They’re what gives strength and sustainability to culture and civilization. When Abdu’l-Bahá (the son of the founder of the Bahá’í Faith) was asked to define the purpose of our lives, he said it was to acquire virtues. There are other answers to that question in the Bahá’í writings: for example, to know and to love God, and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. But, at least in Bahá’í terms, these are all saying the same thing in different words.
Having that sense of meaning and purpose in our lives is essential to our personal mental health and our collective well-being. For each person, exactly how that manifests itself will depend on circumstances, capacity, confidence, and so on. There are many variables. But there are also many constants. The virtues, or qualities of the spirit, are a way to nourish individuals and society in a way that produces wholesomeness and health (salubritas). Perhaps today that would translate as wholeness.
Here’s to our health, wholeness, and our ability to hang on to the cross-cultural value of virtues. To build a world civilization, we’re going to need every single one of them.
Sheila Flood is the E.D. of the Victoria Multifaith Society and member of the Bahá’í community.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE, /blogs/spiritually-speaking
