Virtues for Well Being

Virtues for Well Being
“Johnny is so honest!   Look at Hamid, how kind he is to younger children.”   Gaining virtues is often seen as something we do so that we will appear as good people to others,an outward display as to how good we are.   But acquiring virtues helps us to be whole inside and at peace with ourselves, to help us belong to the world and be at peace.   Two virtues, happiness and honesty, are important to our internal well being.
Although not everyone would agree, happiness is something that comes from inside ourselves when we are fulfilling our purpose in life. This is not, however, a popular definition, for some people, happiness is material possessions.   These people think they need to wear nice clothes, drive a new car and live in beautiful houses and then they will be happy. While these are elements of happiness, true happiness is really something much more than either of these.   True happiness is not something external but rather something that comes from inside. True happiness is that sense of contentment that comes from fulfilling our purpose in life. We are truly happy when we understand why we were created and try our best to live in accordance with that purpose. Recognition that God has made us to know and to love him is a purpose we can live with for true happiness.
Most people think that being honest simply remembers telling the truth.   The definition suggests that there is but one answer to a question, and your task is to give it. Sometimes it is that easy. For example if you ask me if I broke the window, only one answer can be correct. But if you ask me how it felt to break the window, I can only tell you how I felt.   How I felt may have more than one answer.   The whole truth may be that when I kicked the ball, I felt excited that it went higher and farther than when anyone else had kicked it.   When it hit the glass, I was still feeling excited because the breaking glass sounded a bit like applause.   Then I realized what I had done,...