I have been focusing on two Stoic virtues lately, wisdom and courage, and their corresponding Stoic vices, foolishness and cowardice. These virtues must be central to our collective focus instead of the fashionable values today, such as diversity, equality, and tolerance, which are all good values in their proper context but can be misused and abused without wisdom.
We are in a “wisdom famine,” with great foolishness abound. We are also in an “encowering world,” with cowardice instead of courage being promoted. Wisdom and courage go a long way, as wisdom points the way, and courage gives the resolve to move there despite whatever internal and external resistance is in the way.
One is not even in the game without this one-two-punch virtue combo. However, there is a good reason why the Stoics focus on a third virtue, temperance, as one can know the way and have all the courage in the world but can still get distracted on the path. Many things today distract people from following their path: smartphones, social media, culture war, pornography, video games, impulse shopping, emotional eating, and various forms of substance abuse.
I went through a temperance-maxxing phase when I was younger, stopping watching television and porn, for example, which helped unplug me from the mainstream, and allowed me to feel how demonic porn is. I assumed my temperance game was good, but this assumption was foolish, as the scintillating call for immediate pleasure still overcomes me.
I turned 39 today and am done with moments of living like an intemperate child. I feel the call for sobering sacrifice. I will have a full year of saying no to what does not matter so I can have a full life saying yes to what does. I’ll start by committing to a year of no alcohol and gluten, neither of which serves my body. I will be coming for caffeine and the living-through-screens lifestyle after.
This year will be the year of temperance, and it will start with no cake on my birthday.
