Honour

Let your words and deeds be in accord

Honour is associated with high respect and/or great esteem. Honour is the quality of knowing and doing what is morally right. We can learn much about honour from the Roman philosopher Seneca who wrote in his Moral Epistles: “Nature has brought us forth brave of spirit, and, as she has implanted in certain animals a spirit of ferocity, in others craft, in others terror, so she has gifted us with an aspiring and lofty spirit, which prompts us to seek a life of the greatest honour, and not of the greatest security, that most resembles the soul of the universe, which it follows and imitates as far as our mortal steps permit.“ For Seneca there is but one good and that is to live with honour. To be honourable according to this Stoic man’s reason must be well ordered and right and adapted to that which his nature has willed – man’s unique good.

Honour demands that we behave in a manner that demands respect. Do you respect yourself for who you are? This is a key question for mystics to answer since mystics set for themselves the highest ideals to relentlessly strive to achieve.  An ideal is an ideal because it has not yet been realised. Along the way we will disappoint ourselves by not living up to the ideal. Honour however demands from us never to give up the struggle but to continue to live a life worthy of honour. Honour does not compromise self-respect but demands an awareness that continually progresses towards an ideal being.

We can recognise the virtue of honour functioning in our lives by assessing to what degree our words and deeds are in accord.  Honour is about living consistently towards our ideal. This does not mean consistent behaviour because different situations might call for different approaches, but our words and deeds must always align.  When we promise something we must deliver on that promise and when we judge we must ourselves live in accord with our judgement. We recognise an honourable act in that it is something we do voluntary from our own will. Whenever an act is not by our choice and against our own will that act is not honourable for it inherently contradicts with our own nature and conscience. Honour bequests from us full devotion, based on a complete conviction that it is the right action to take. A true honourable act is an act that is fully imbued with good intent. Honour does not include any form of evil or malice intent. Seneca writes that every honourable act is the work of one single virtue, but it is in accordance with the judgement of the whole council of virtues.

An honourable person does “good” irrespective of the situation even if it involves labour, hardship or sacrifice.  The situation does not determine the behaviour but a man’s inner ideal of goodness drives through to impress itself onto the situation at hand.  An honourable man might not escape poverty but he will not be humbled or bend by his poverty. He may not escape pain and illness but it is his upright conduct within pain and illness that brings honour to the situation. When we act with honour we do not follow the majority but we follow the voice of our own conscience on what is good. Honour is not about receiving the approval of others but to live according to the nudging of the soul.  We uphold our convictions at all times, especially when no one else is watching.

To cultivate honour we must associate ourselves with fellow human beings that are honourable. When we align ourselves with good men we will acquire bit by bit more of their honourable influence into hour own lives to uplift us to greater heights than what we may have achieved on our own. Ultimately honourable companionship will yield benefits to our own endeavours to be honourable. Seneca advises us to find people who lived with honour through troubling times and use that as a means to motivate and encourage us to live with honour ourselves. Seneca continues to encourage us to praise honourable men and consider it an honourable action in itself…not to seek praise ourselves but to acknowledge those that inspire us to be honourable.

Our past honour gives us confidence to face the challenges in the present moment. When we face a threat or have to endure distress we can always recall past events where we acted with honour and know that we are far more able to deal with the challenge that we are facing.  This exercise does not remove us from the situation but gives us the ability to face it with more confidence and hope. The practice of honour prepares us to face the ultimate challenge when we must be ready and prepared to face death.

Seneca writes: “But the happy man, whose virtue is complete, loves himself most of all when his bravery has been submitted to the severest test, and when he not only, endures but welcomes that which all other men regard with fear, if it is the price which he must pay for the performance of a duty which honour imposes, and he greatly prefers to have men say of him: “how much more noble!” rather than “how much more lucky!”

Virtue contemplation: Prudence

Be aware of the consequence of your actions

Plato identified Prudence as a cardinal virtue with classes of the city, which he described in The Republic, and associated it with the class of rulers and to reason. The Roman philosopher Cicero writes: “Virtue may be defined as a habit of mind (animi).” In harmony with reason and the order of nature, he lists “prudentiam” along with justice, courage and temperance as the four parts of virtue. The Catholic Church also sees prudence as the first of the four cardinal virtues along with fortitude, temperance and justice. The cardinal virtues are seen as those virtues that are needed for all the other virtues to manifest. Symbolically, prudence is often represented by the symbol of a scroll or a book to indicate that prudence is knowledge, learned being applied correctly, or by a mirror indicating the importance of self-awareness.

Prudence is an awareness of the present moment and the opportunity to give expression to the other virtues. Prudence is in essence the filter that selects the most appropriate virtue to express given the circumstances within which you find yourself. Prudence therefore is mindfulness that is cognisant of the circumstances, opportunities and value that can be brought into a particular situation. Prudence can also be defined as exercising wisdom in the present moment. Zeal without prudence can easily lead to an unintended result if the possible outcomes of our actions are not fully considered. The same is applicable to courage … we may have the courage to do something only to find out that the action itself is detrimental. Courage to act in a situation where patience is required can lead to war. Prudence recognises that all virtues act on a continuum and that the level of virtue expressed is a variable that must be driven by choice.

Prudence is also associated with wisdom, judgment, common sense and sagacity. For the Mystic, prudence acts on consciousness and on the need to consider all the factors at play in order to select the best action for those circumstances. However, prudence is not about delaying action or decisions. Indeed prudence is not just concerned with the best action but also with the best timing of action. When we act automatically from previous conditioning and learned behaviour then we cannot be prudent. Prudence asks for self-awareness as well awareness of the situation within which we find ourselves, so that we can consciously select the appropriate action.

Prudence is like the rudder of a ship that is used continually to direct our lives in the direction we want to take it. Within the context of a Mystic, prudence asks what the impact of an action will be on our own inner being but also on that of other people. Prudence allows you to see the big picture, like a map, while the other virtues enable you to conduct your daily affairs.

Prudence manifests at the point where our conscience joins our consciousness. Without conscience we do not have self-awareness or awareness of the circumstances, and with conscience we do not have good judgement of what is good or bad at a particular time or in particular circumstances. The action of prudence is not just an intuitive act but requires learning so that we leverage value from the total learning of humanity. Prudence in this sense means going beyond relying on our own insight alone; we must also trust in the insight of humanity’s collective experience. Although learning itself is not by default an act of prudence it does form a foundation of preparedness that will allow us to act with prudence. A key aspect enabling prudence is that human nature is endowed with the capacity to remember. Prudence therefore does not just require looking forward but also reflecting on the consequences of past actions and remembering the relationship between cause and effect.

Prudence is the control that links what we want to be with how we are. Prudence however is not just acting from learning but also acting from our divine nature rather than our human nature. Prudence is the practical application of reason. Prudence considers the impact on our soul first in every action or decision, and it considers how the benevolence of divinity can be expressed. Before every action we ask ourselves, what choice would best serve universal good.

© All rights reserved. Jurgens Pieterse

Virtue contemplation: Fellow feeling

Connect with the world around you!

Fellow-feeling, compassion and loving kindness are all related to the same type of virtue. Fellow-feeling is a virtue that compels us to become aware of the world around us and more specifically of fellow human beings. Seneca, the stoic philosopher said the first thing philosophy teaches is fellow-feeling. We find the idea of compassion featuring strongly in Buddhist ontology.

When we cultivate a sense of fellow-feeling, it challenges us to see the need and the suffering of the world.  But more than just being aware of it we are invited to share in the feelings of those who suffer. Fellow-feeling is of little use unless it flows over into action where we do something to relieve the suffering of others. If you are in pain then you will act to soothe that pain, and fellow-feeling is to feel as if your fellow man is part of you. This opens the doorway to our conscience. In every action we need to ask what the impact is on our fellow human beings. Compassion uplifts our spirit to vibrate at a higher level of conscience that is more in tune with divine benevolence.

I have read many web pages that contained stories of compassionate people, who crafted their lives around being compassionate. In my own Afrikaner history, I looked back at Emily Hobhouse who was a remarkable woman due to her stand against political forces to bring the plight of Afrikaner-Boer woman in concentration camps to the attention of the British people. There is no shortage of examples to follow or admire across the pages of history.

In its continuum of existence there is on the one side total selfishness that does everything only for the self and on the other extreme there is total selflessness that sacrifices self for the good of others.  The first is by itself insular and brings us to the realisation of being alone and not part of the human family … we rob ourselves of the feeling of being loved or of loving. At the other extreme we are at the risk of depleting our inner resources in an attempt to assist others and we forget to nurture ourselves and our own well-being. If a rich man feels for the poor and gives away all his possessions to the poor, the state of poverty will just return for the solution is not sustainable. However, if he uses the money to create businesses that employ more people in a productive way he brings a positive and more sustainable solution to the world. Compassion is therefore not about just throwing ourselves at the needs of other people, but rather it requires us to find sustainable and lasting means to raise the quality of living in society as a whole.

Unlike other virtues, fellow-feeling can be overwhelming if we think we have to make changes in the world by ourselves. Fellow-feeling is about collaborating and working with others to uplift the world around us. Fellow-feeling for the Mystic, however, starts within, when we begin to visualise healing for the world and upliftment. If the seed is not planted within our own mind we can never truly live fellow-feeling. Our human nature is social and we are the most happiest in a community that is happy. Humanity’s need becomes an opportunity for the Mystic to put all his/her abilities to work in the service of humanity and the ecological sustainability of the world.

In a more practical way, the awareness associated with fellow-feeling is an awareness of how our immediate family, friends and/or work colleagues feel. Fellow-feeling is not about complaining along with co-workers about the company culture or politics but rather it is about seeing it and looking for ways of uplifting and encouraging fellow workers to become their best. Fellow-feeling is about not being pulled down into depression by the pathetic state of others but instead it calls for strength in finding ways to uplift all those that pass our way to new levels of confidence. Standing still with a beggar in the street to really hear his/her story is more an expression of fellow-feeling than just pushing a coin or a note into an empty hand and walking off. The latter is indispensably part of fellow-feeling but the need here is not just for money, it is for respect and acknowledgment of the humanness of others. Fellow-feeling asks from us to be open-minded to the insights of others. On a practical level if we refuse to listen to co-workers, or we belittle their contributions, then we are carving away at the foundation of a positive society and indirectly destroying an environment conducive to a happy life.

When we indulge in fellow-feeling, we become aware of our own uniqueness, the resources to serve that are at our disposal. Yes, we can blindly and greedily seek to profit from our talents and abilities but fellow-feeling asks from us to look for a fair exchange. The focus is never on the single transaction but on the total upliftment of the system as a whole to a new level. Fellow-feeling can be applied within a very narrow band-width but its focus is always the global overarching perspective. Humanity as a whole is on a path of evolution and the Mystic is primarily concerned with that process which ultimately leads to greater human excellence. Fellow-feeling might ask from us to suspend our own agenda and plans to align them with a bigger purpose and therefore increase our value contribution to society. By uplifting humanity, the Mystic transforms the base metal of his own soul into golden heights that express excellence through his human nature.

© All rights reserved. Jurgens Pieterse

Virtue contemplation: Courage

“When it is the right thing to do … just do it without hesitation!”

Courage is defined by the ability to do something that frightens one. Synonyms include fearlessness, valour, daring, and audacity. Our fears are sometimes only in our imagination and they artificially constrain what we think we can do. Courage breaks through the illusion of fear to open up new possibilities to live creatively and happily.

I learned courage from a friend who smoked too much and ended up with her lung capacity severely limited. She ended up living from oxygen generators and ultimately visiting the emergency units of the hospital. But she had the strength to remain calm and strong in the face of not being able to breathe. There was no hope of healing and yet she continued to display a love for life. That was inspiring for me and taught me what courage really means.

All humans are most likely destined to experience some type of misfortune. Courage provides the inner strength to face misfortune and persevere despite calamities that might come our way. Courage accepts the unavoidable with the faith that human nature is resilient enough to overcome and move beyond times of loss, destruction and despair. Courage means to live consistently in agreement with one’s own convictions irrespective of other people’s opinions and circumstances.

Courage lies on the continuum between being timorous and foolhardy boldness. On the one end there is a blind acceptance of fate and acceptance of misery. Stripped of hope, a timorous attitude can cast a person into an abyss of constant, inescapable anxiety. Foolhardy boldness on the other hand means rushing into danger where the risk is unnecessary. Courage finds the golden mean between these two extremes; although a situation is accepted, it is also endured with confidence that misfortune must also abide by a cyclical nature and come to an end at some point. Courage is a virtue that gives one constant persistence, irrespective of circumstances, with regard to remaining true to oneself.

Courage provides the energy to act with confidence and overcome any initial doubts we might have in our own ability. Courage opens the door to do the unthinkable and to suspend fears and face reality head on in a pragmatic manner. Fearlessness is not a blind leap of faith but fuelled rather by a critical assessment of the risk involved while timing action for maximum impact. Only a fool rushes into a situation without thinking about it. An act of courage involves knowing the dangers while accepting the possible consequences of acting. Audacity means assessing when the cause for action outweighs the risks of not acting. “Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it.“

Daring is not just about acting but also about letting go. We tend to hold on to things in our lives beyond their lifespan. When the time has come to make changes we hold on to our past which creates constraints that prevent us from living our full potential in the present moment. Courage refuses to give up on human nature and on living life fully. Courage is about timing … doing the right thing at the right time based on one’s own convictions. In this sense, prudence and courage are closely linked virtues because prudence is about knowing what the right thing is to do while courage is more about having the inner will to do what is right. Sometimes courage requires that we persist in an action because we believe that the end result will be worth the difficulties that must be faced. Courage not only means acknowledging one’s own strengths, it also provides the fortitude to ask for help when needed and acknowledge when one’s own resources are insufficient.

Courage is acting from within one’s own convictions. In this sense, courage supports justice because one must be willing to stand up for that which one believes is just even if it means opposing authority. Each man must remain true to the level of his own conscience and must not submit to the thinking of others if he thinks with his whole being that something is not just. One needs courage to say “No” against authority, peer pressure and public opinion when one knows it is not the right thing to do. Courage might act, resist or wait but it is never passive, it is always active in pursuing the best possible outcome under the guidance of reason. In this sense, courage is not just a selfish act for one’s own gain but the willingness to stand up for a cause greater than one’s own personal interests. It might be the courage to act for humanity or to preserve and protect the ecology of life on earth but courage considers what is worthwhile fighting for even if it means putting human nature under strain.

Courage does not guarantee success but finds peace of mind in having persisted in human excellence. Courage allows us to find the inspiration to live a more purposeful life and push beyond the expectations of other people, for it allows us to continue where most people would have stopped. Courage leads the way past the boundaries of perceived limitations, the fear of the unknown and any obstacles that stand in the way of benevolent action.

© All rights reserved. Jurgens Pieterse