Virtue is
a quality of moral goodness or excellence. When we speak of individual virtues,
we are talking about qualities that we aspire to. A virtue must be cultivated
for it to become a habitual way of living in the world around us.
For each
of us, there is a core set of virtues or principles that serves our life
mission. When we violate these, we violate ourselves. In addition, there are
many other virtues that in turn serve this moral core. However, they are
constantly in competition with each other, which creates a complicated sort of
balancing act that some call relativism.
In any
given situation, we must weigh these virtues against each other by considering
how they serve our personal moral core and life mission. For example, sometimes
a life mission will be served by cultivating tolerance or patience. Other times
it will be better served by exercising judgment and activism. Knowing how to
balance the virtues in any one situation requires us to make discerning
judgments. The practices of meditation, study, and contemplation can guide us
in this endeavour.
