“What we practice, we become.” –The On Being Project
While scrolling through Instagram, I came across a beautiful posting by the On Being Project outlining six “grounding virtues” on how to live a good life. I squirreled them away to share with you all at some later date when the time felt right.
That would be now.
Given the turbulent and transformational times we are living in right now, these guideposts could not be more fitting, or timely. Like a beacon of light piercing through dense fog showing a way out of darkness, they feel even more like ballast to me now – the steadying reminders we need to navigate the bumpy waters of change.
Here’s what they say:
What we practice, we become. These six “grounding virtues” guide everything we do:
1. Patience: A spiritual view of time is a long view of time — seasonal and cyclical, resistant to the illusion of time as a bully, time as a matter of deadlines. Human transformation takes time — longer than we want it to — but it is what is necessary for social transformation.
2. Words That Matter: The words we use shape how we understand ourselves, how we interpret the world, how we treat others.
3. Adventurous Civility: Civility, in our world of change, is about creating new possibilities for living forward while being different and even continuing to hold profound disagreement.
4. Humility: Spiritual humility is not about getting small. It is about encouraging others to be big. It is not about debasing oneself, but about approaching everything and everyone with a readiness to be surprised and delighted.
5. Generous Listening: Real listening is powered by curiosity. It involves vulnerability — a willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity.
6. Hospitality: Hospitality is the creation of an inviting, trustworthy space — an atmosphere as much as a place. It shapes the experience to follow. It creates the intention, the spirit, and the boundaries for what is possible.
I especially like #1: “Human transformation takes time — longer than we want it to — but it is what is necessary for social transformation.”
If you could use a little assistance in cultivating these virtues…
taking the long view, changing your perceptions, opening to new possibilities, embracing detachment, inviting surprise and wonder, growing your listening (and seeing) skills, creating spacious boundaries…
… and if you are willing to give yourself a year to do so…
I might recommend my most recent book, A Year for You, and/or my online course at DailyOM on which the book is based. These resources will give you the easeful guidance and tools to live well, simply be…
and find your way home to you.
