Systemic Virtue: TEMPERANCE TUESDAY 12/31/24
Temperance: Moderation in action, thought, and feeling. Self restraint.
I enjoy saying the phrase Temperance Tuesday. It acts like a turnkey for contemplation. And I surely do love the word contemplate. Contemplation, when turned into etymological bits looks like this:
Con- (both sides)
temple (place of worship)
-ion (converts a verb to a noun)
Light Up the Temple
And when the anatomist and the spiritual minister in me collaborate, I see two fingertips touching the side of my head and “poof!” both hemispheres light up. Each hemisphere has its own traits and activities. So when they join in The Middle, the collective conscious point of focus becomes the pineal gland. The pinecone in your head that is the equivalent of a nebulous, bursting forth little pine-nuts of liquid crystalline gold , and an important point of focus in spiritual growth, AND physical and mental health (because they’re all entwined).
Listen To Your Heart
The Pineal Gland is indeed a place of intrigue and focus no matter what you study. Proven by studies at HeartMath Institute, the brain is listening quite intently to the heart - and less so the other way ‘round.
So if our brain is listening more to the heart, it seems to reason that the temple in the center of the skull is (at least TRYING TO) intently listen to the heart. This is the teaching since the beginning of our time. Meditation and prayer: To go in search for God within. Its pretty basic when contemplated.
Therefore, MY definition of contemplation is this:
Contemplation: Creating a place of intentional listening for the Divine through the merging of both hemispheres of the brain into the chamber focused on my heart.
A shift of one word:
“I’ve been thinking…” over “I have been contemplating…”
Speaks volumes toward what might come next.
Losing My Temper
So, in my contemplation of Temperance Tuesday, I am brought to a phrase that I’d not understood in its entirety. That’s because the definition of temperance is lacking in wholeness - leaning only toward a negative connotation. Self restraint. (Note: Though tempering is a word in cooking and alchemy - if I tried to fold that into this publication, my intention would be lost. But its the same…tempering of the flame. Truly, its the same.) Back to Losing Temper.
My misconception, when I would hear of a lost temper - whether someone else's or my own- led to the understanding that there was some sort of emotional outburst of uncontrolled upset. A lacking of emotional restraint leading to verbal and/or physical chaos. (A Temper Tantrum - this phrase holds another ribbon to travel down…another time)
But there are other indicators of a Lost Temper. (Lost Temple?). For one, procrastination. Oh boy, I lose my temper here quite a bit! Losing steam, losing focus, decreased attention, generally due to what I characterize as —
Foolishness
To me, foolishness is anything that distracts me from being the very best, Greatest Expression of myself. Foolishness is anything that is going to keep me - or stall me - from making it down that path to meet that Future Self I brought up in the Intro to Systemic Virtue.
Simple yet potent examples of this:
A lack of faith/belief in self.
Lack of self care
Imbalanced investment of time/attention (including sleep)
Too much of one thing
Entangling with behaviors, habits, imbalances, & shifting tides of others.
Observing Foolishness without judgement
Allows a tempering of my thoughts leading to the actions that redirect and realign even better with my goals —- without judging myself or anyone else.
UpCycling Temperance’s Definition
I’d like to round out the definition of Temperance. Here is how I see it:
Temperance: Moderation in action, thought and feeling. Balancing self-restraint and self encouragement.
Look inside encouragement and we see a characteristic of FORTITUDE. Courage.
En-(prefix): into
-ment (suffix): being in a ‘state of’.
Self encouragement is the infusion of fortitude.
Therefore, TEMPERANCE is being adept at the ability to infuse fortitude AND to redirect away from foolishness with the practice of PRUDENCE. All fueled by LOVE, So as to remain Steady on Path. Systemic Virtue in motion.
In Search of The Lost Temper in the Pregnant Pause of Procrastination
(Say that 3 times fast!)
Clearly, temper has been lost inside procrastination, and what better place to go in search for it? Suspension within procrastination can actually be an opportunity to curiously contemplate…Why am I pregnant with pause?
Am I lacking faith in myself?
Is this just something I don’t want to do? Why?
What are the various outcomes if I finish this project? If I don’t? If I do, but don’t reach the predetermined deadline? Have I even created a deadline?
Do I simply need to kick myself in the pants and have a hearty bowl of Frosted Fortitude Flakes? (They’re Grrrreat!)
Or do I need to redirect and let this stop being a distraction?
Whatever the answer, don’t spend too much time in suspension, get off any foolhardy ferry so you can get back to work on The Way to your Greatest Expression.
Temperance is a sharp tool of fine-tuning out the fool. Keeping the wheels within the system of virtue well oiled.
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there” - Rumi
Thank you thank you for your kind words of support in my personal life. It is really a joy to know you are enjoying this. I invite your comments and thoughts!
Please share this system of writings with someone you love…. They are letters from above. They are Letters to My Children.
Love,
Mom (Carly)