I guess the common phrase we have in today’s nomenclature is soul searching and I feel like the last few years of my life could be summed up pretty well by that two word process. But I take today to look inside of my busy self to see if I can pinpoint what beliefs I hold very near and dear in order that I may actually try to shoulder who I believe that I am. How would my life be different if I actually did live out those ambitious and resolute aretes? Arete is the greek concept that meant pure excellence and was described by something fulfilling its purpose. The word in English refers to a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains and I feel that the arete to me is a combination of the two definitions- a portmanteau of sorts. But rather than just finding aretes on postcards or dreaming of one day hiking them (when the time is right), what if I had the integrity to begin to walk the ridges now, to allow my core beliefs to shape who I am and who I am becoming?
That is this week’s goal- to look into my soul-not to find myself, but to discover what is already there. And to caterpillar-crawl in thoughts of what taking these ideals seriously- would require and entail. I catch myself often disgusted when I feel my actions are not in phase with my values. So I hope to use these seven days to sort through this haystack of thoughts and emotions until I can uncover the bare values that exist within my soul.
