It Takes Effort

The truth of it is, it takes a lot of hard work. To realize at forty-one how illiterate I really was. That I avoided, while growing up, learning about western culture, ideas and civilization. It takes quite a bit of effort to play catch up on what has transipired in the past, that has led us to where we are today. Also to become aware of virtue, and what it means for virtue to operate in my life. The tempering of the Hebrew and Greek scriptures with a good dose of Stoic philosophy to help develop a proper attitude toward the situation I am in right now. The proper combination of theology, philosophy and literature can aid me in knowing when to be sensitive to others and when to ignore them, when to show compassion and when to give out some tough love, when to let my actions speak or to speak outright. When to be quiet. Most, to realize the truly free things such as Beauty and Art and Nature that are so profuse and so accessable at any moment. But all this is not freely given, especially when taken for granted. At least I surely didn't perceive it as such and before.