Concept-building:

_{In this life of sin, why doesn't virtue win?}

As precipitous a task it may be, I enjoy the labor of pushing pencil to paper and jotting down ideas. It relaxes my heart, relaxes my heart, focuses my spirit, and tames many a wild thought. To write, I must read, and as of late, the sped and proficiency I once sorted with lengthy text returns once again.

It puzzles me that I find more facility when recalling the sins but I stumble to name seven virtues. Then my inner cynic comes to, answering the dilemma. It is a greater task to walk a path of righteousness. Our weak, temporal minds aside, I am of the opinion people relish in each other’s inequities. Whether it be an evolutionary trait or a display of our hidden nature is uncertain, however.

Take lust, for example. At a point that could only be discussed beforehand, we all follow the age-old adage, “sex sells”. Movies about a couple making a porno, a middle-aged male virgin, magic men who dance or way too many names for the same color – it’s a recognized trope. But does purity profit? This is not to condemn the forces of good and their marketing practices. Try this. ________ is a virtue. We could all hear it, right – patience echoes through our minds’ chambers, but practice aside, we preach it fervently. Shilling may not be the Church’s take on it, but somehow we missed a vital six psalms about the rest. If this weary sinner may, here are the virtues we don’t know and try to love.

To be chaste, one is to stay pure in thought and action. How many of us can claim to live just so, I will venture not. Media, the stuff of the idiot box, is jam-packed with its opposition. What the hazy mirages serve, I wonder. I fight to remain disillusioned. Temperance, may not strike many as virtuous, as it may not strike many at all. If you’re in the population it did not strike, the virtue suggests ‘everything in moderation’ - be it actions, thoughts, or feelings. Stoics of the world, united we remain. Did you know charity is a virtue? More or less, we all agree ‘sharing is caring’, but I must admit, the word ‘mine’ gets uttered by yours truly between two younger siblings. Diligence is a worn catcher’s mitt, sowing unraveling, but not quite enough to retire. This virtue is not hardest because of the effort required, but the spirit to persevere, persist and otherwise continue on doggedly.

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“Not everyone who works hard is rewarded. However! All those who succeed have worked hard!!”

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I’d do well to keep this in mind. With a polite nod to patience, we hurry on to the virtue of kindness. We all appreciate the gesture of holding a door open or a thank you note. Yet, in an effort to move up in our ambitious society, we mistake our kindness for blindness, abusing generosity like when Bernie Madoff with a lot of loot or ‘nice guys’ complaining they finish last – I don’t understand the suggestion. I pray we see the sins for what they are – excuses. There is merit in an upstanding way of life. I feel nothing but intercine consequences lie for those who choose so, thus, in earnest, I write to better myself and best my poor habits. Ultimately, perhaps in order and importance, humility awaits. Words escape me as I ponder this facet, but I can offer this: those who are humble can grow. Maybe this is the spirit of mine that took this task upon itself to reckon quickly, and deal slowly with my shortcomings. For all the knowledge I pride in, I know I’ve much to learn.

Sins	Virtues
lust	chastity
gluttony	temperance
greed	charity
sloth	diligence
wrath	patience
envy	kindness
pride	humility