Warrior Work Week 25

Warrior Work
Week 25
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VIRTUE

Vir*tue: 1.The quality of being morally good, "she is the epitomy of virtue".
2. A particular quality that is morally good, "patience is a virtue".
3. Cardinal virtues: justice, hope, faith and above all love.
4. Chastity-moral quality of being chaste.
5. Effective power, "he has the virtue of communication" and "by the virtue of..."

The root of virtue is from the Latin vir or virtus signifying "man", "excellence", "strength","moral" thus a
virtuoso is a powerful skilled person and at one point deemed of high moral character as in "virtuous". Interestingly all character traits are known as
virtues and yet if you ask people to define virtue or moral they have a hard time describing a clear "picture" of what it is or how to apply it.
This is a great example of how are words are abstract, fragmentive, vague and why we speak with "forked tongues" - we often have either no idea or
a vague idea of the picture, power or goal behind our words. Thus getting a clear picture of virtue as a foundation word is essential to get a clear
integration with any word that we consider a virtue.
The two key elements to look at are power and moral. Even though vir signified man it is no longer essential since it is now a generic usage referring
to humanity but if you wish to play with the word, you can see how it grew from the concept of a husband, the householder, taking care of his family
and tribe justly and wisely.
Interestingly, the original ideogram, kanji or pictographic for power/moral as described in the "g.e.t.i.t.together" book was an army moving forward
with one heart toward a common goal of protecting one's country.
The word "courage" comes from the French word "coeur" meaning "heart" thus one with courage moves from their heart and what goals they have
their heart set on.
One who "cowers"focuses inward on the self, worried about what others are doing or not doing. Courage and Fear are in essence both high in
energy but the FOCUS/GOAL or INTENT is very different. The modern description of the ideogram captures the essence of
VIRTUE/POWER/MORAL all in one simple picture.
It is a person moving toward a goal with a loving heart (intent) that ten eyes can find no fault with. Thus when you use power to defend and protect,
there will be people who do like your techniques or what has to be done but they can find no fault with your intent.
Like a surgeon cutting off an arm to save the body, cutting someone out of your life to save your self, freeing someone from your world because it is
the best, the most loving thing to do.
This week USE the words VIRTUE/POWER/MORAL. TEST THEM and start seeing how effective is your VIRTUE, your POWER, your MORAL SENSE
and how it resonates into relationship. Observe how others move or do not move from their "hearts": the courage, the passion, the power, the ripple
effect of their actions.
Encourage yourself and others not to COWER but to set G.oals, to cultivate E.nergy, to learn T.echniques that fit the situations they encounter daily
to move forward from a heart that is wide open to the world. Use the situations to build I.nner Skills and then T.est It all daily and recapitulate your
day to see what works and what does not until it all integrates harmoniously within you. Be cautious and aware of what is in your heart and the hearts
of others because reason will always find a way to work/move towards it. Be virtuous, Be powerful, Be loving - g.e.t.i.t.together!

By Peter Hill, Copyright 2004
www.getittogether.net

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