I got some pushback from a listener about something I’ve been saying in the podcast. It wasn’t a criticism, per se, but you know me. Once I start overthinking something, I can’t let it go. The listener’s sticking point was that she doesn’t like it when I say we should “treat ourselves like an honoredContinue reading “An Honored Guest”
Category Archives: Courtesy
Ode to Mise en Place: Office Party Edition
It’s the long anticipated return of Poppy Fields! Poppy is here to tell us how a little Mise en Place can significantly simplify your end-of-year office office obligations, and how being on our best behavior at an office party can save us a bunch of heartache. Welcome back, Poppy! What better way to celebrate theContinue reading “Ode to Mise en Place: Office Party Edition”
The Gift-Receiver Templates Part One: The Troublemakers
Part one: The Troublemakers Your homework over the last few days has been to make a list of the special people in your life to whom you give gifts during the holiday season. I also asked you add the people you sometimes forget about. (“How do I remember something I usually forget,” you may ask?Continue reading “The Gift-Receiver Templates Part One: The Troublemakers”
Let’s Play “Grown-up Talk”
“Let’s play “grown-up talk;” one scalawag said to the other. They had just come off a twenty-minute kicking and hitting fest in the backseat on our way home from my in-laws. Honestly, I didn’t care what they played, as long as it no longer involved thumping on the back of my seat or someone whiningContinue reading “Let’s Play “Grown-up Talk””
The Edge Pieces: Part One
As you know, there is no quick, easy way to get a new puzzle started. We’ve got to simply wade into the mess: flip the pieces to the picture side, separate out the edge pieces, maybe consolidate a few obviously related pieces. It’s a process that takes time, but can be, if we are inContinue reading “The Edge Pieces: Part One”
Peace: Part Two
The Philosopher Princess’ Utterly Unscientific Guide to Finding Inner Peace Yesterday, we defined the virtue of peace as a state of undisturbed inner calm. It is a virtue which has echoes in many different world religions, making it, like wisdom, one of those universal supervirtues. We also established that peace has the dual orientations ofContinue reading “Peace: Part Two”
Courtesy: are you a supervillain?
The Flipside The Flipside of a virtue is what a virtue would look like if wisdom were removed from it. For example, we said that for the virtue of Acceptance, the Flipside was apathy. The virtue of Courtesy, without wisdom, would be reckless obsequiousness. Too servile. Too self-effacing. You may or may not have runContinue reading “Courtesy: are you a supervillain?”
Courtesy: doing what can be done
The Orientation of Courtesy The Orientation Facet (towards self or towards others) of courtesy is always going to be others-oriented. Our discussions of some virtues will be solely Self-Oriented. Courtesy, however, is very much about others. Those of us who struggle with interpersonal relationships tend to be on a spectrum between absolute troglodytes or peopleContinue reading “Courtesy: doing what can be done”
Courtesy: everyday martyrdom
Are you ready to get Aristotelian with me? Hee-Haw! Let’s see another way in which the exercise of virtue is the pursuit of happiness… We are going to take a deeper look at one of the virtues on the list of many many many virtues. This one virtue, which, on its face, seems like somethingContinue reading “Courtesy: everyday martyrdom”
Sing With Your Feet 