Members Only Post #64 – A Return To Virtue

I’ve talked for awhile now how many needs more than the basic needs fulfilled to actually be fulfilled put another way “Man does not live on bread alone.” something many seem to have forgotten in the modern age. Meaning that beyond getting in shape, attracting women, and making money man has much higher and greater needs. While such subjects draw the most attention, many who seek such things are in drastic need of others.

That’s not to say the above have no importance or in and of themselves are “base” no they are certainly things that need to be addressed and that serve as a “foundation” of sorts for greater and bigger things in life. The problem comes when one thinks that is all there is to it and that one should focus endlessly on these things. Something that becomes quickly counterproductive to a man’s overall (not just physical but spiritual and mental) health and development.

Man needs something with more “meat” on it to truly find what he is looking for and develop into what he was created to be. We’ve talked about developing oneself physically, mentally, and spiritually but it also goes even further beyond that. What does all of this lead to and into? Does one just end up in an endless cycle of improving these facets without it leading into any greater? Well no, and that’s what I want to talk about today.

Moving Beyond Oneself

No, it’s not about an endless circle of self-development it’s about things that are higher and greater. Leading to something more. To develop oneself and take care of oneself is of course the first step but once that is done one can then lead into other things. The creation, protection, and development of a family for instance. Contributing back through the written word or some other sort of broadcast device. And a million other things.

One isn’t made to just continue to develop in a loop with anything fruitful coming from (though one should always keep progressing as to do anything less is foolish). Like I talked about in Become A King (seems so long ago that I wrote the thing) one develops oneself so that he can then help others up and “see the light” so to speak. But what does any of this have to do with virtue?

While the definition of virtue has changed and been commandeered by many different people in its classical sense I think it means a man that is complete and not lacking. But that’s still a bit broad. I recently wrote an article talking about virtue (won’t be out until May) that talks about it being the synthesization of wisdom, strength, and character producing virtue. So a bit different than many interpret the word.

Virtue & Creating The World You Want

Ultimately it is this virtue that I think man strives for and one of the biggest goals of the modern world is to convince man that he needs/wants anything else. There comes a point where money loses it shine, meaningless sex loses its luster, and other “achievements” and “accomplishments” turn to ash in one’s mouth. According to the materialist worldview when this happens it’s nonsense, something’s wrong with you the person not with the ideology itself.

When in fact this is normal and logical. One needs more to live than these things. But again what does this all have to do with virtue? To me, the more that I see and understand, the best path a man can take is the virtuous one that will lead to most fulfilled life. And that the most fulfilled life (though not for every single person but for most) would be starting a happy, healthy, and strong family and bringing it to fruition in many different ways.

And that requires the virtue that I talked about above. When men individual seek this path eventually families seek this path and when families seek this path communities seek this path and when communities seek this path nations seek this path. And so on and so forth (though don’t think you’ll ever get to the world level, even a nation is a stretch.) If you want fulfillment and happiness then more and more I’m thinking a return to virtue is what is needed more than anything else. Not mindless morality but virtue which is a distinct thing.