The Ancients, in the West as well as in the East, sought virtue; it was often the only concern of a philosopher and common men and women. The search for self-improvement, of one’s qualities through the practice of different arts or the spiritual life was fundamental to understanding the societies of yesteryear. Today, on the contrary, it seems surprising to note that, although they have fallible personalities, some of them are concerned with the accumulation of wealth and are unaware that their discordant character is one of the main reasons for their misfortunes. Medusea is perhaps the best qualifier to describe our present society, which does not seem to really know where it is going. Sometimes you start a project here, sometimes you start another one there. Nothing really seems to give coherence to a group of individualities whose union has been shaken by the successive clashes of modernity. So we prefer to get drunk with pleasures, products, consumables that make us forget our condition of disarticulated doll. Although others have a lot of bagout and manage to make themselves believe that their life is full of meaning, most of them, more lucid, realize the extent of their failure and for many sink into depression.
Yet there are ways to turn away from the precipice of vanity, simply by freeing oneself from mental shackles and following a serene path of virtue. We waste our lives, dare to restore the original grace. The child that is born seems to exalt itself from nothing because it is preserved from the weight of the life that awaits it. Why not unburden ourselves of these collective illusions to work every day to improve our being. It is a never-ending task, yet one that is so delightful. Virtue is not cumbersome, it can be adapted to anything, but we must be able to draw from the bosom of our soul the natural qualities that we all carry within us.
