Justice and Moderation or: Just moderate

So, the last week I devoted to the virtue of Justice. My plan was, to care more about my family, them being the ones who deserve it, work off some Minus on my time account and do something in the workfield. Mostly that went very well. So I could actually tick off three days. That's great, I think.

Now we come to the virtue of Moderation and here is, was Benjamin Franklin wrote about it:
Avoid extremes. Forbear resenting injuries as much as you think, they deserve.

Now somehow I think that a hart nut. Becacuse: these days hardly anyone does give me a feeling of injury, so there is not much to resent about it. What to do then?
Well, maybe I can just stop - for this week - to get myself annoyed about news, that don't concern me directly: people who cheat on taxes. Or people who push themselves into the news or people, who think, that the best in carnival is to get drunk, until every fluid taken in, comes out back and front and out of every pore. And the last aspect is really something that annoys me. With soccer fans as well, by the way. I do not see any sense in getting so drunk, that one can't even lie straight and without being buckled tied. Apart from being disgusting to look at and embarrassing anyway. This really is something, that I resent. Every year. Even though I do know, that it will happen the next year again.

And before misunderstandings come up, I only "resent" this extreme, not the people, who drink a beer or two. Or other alcohol in moderation.

So, that's one point. Then playing and sleeping in moderation will be the other two points. I will try to play less, though I actuall have more time in the coming week, having Wednesday and Thursday off.
Though I do love to sleep long or just lying in bed and being. But, I will curtailed that and at least not do it into lunchtime.
As to playing, I will do my playing rounds, but I won't play for hours on end. Or at the most two hours all in all.

And I could read at home, instead of watching DVDs or  some such thing. Going out today for a walk is possible, perhaps, but not during the week on the height of carnival and certainly not on Thursday, as a woman. It is called - in German - Altweiberfastnacht in english, roughly translated, Old womens carnival. And that should mean, women are allowed to cut off ties and kiss, whoever they want to kiss. But it turned more and more into: men may kiss whichever woman they want on the point, that the women expect that. It is nice for those women who want it, but not, if one does not.

Now, to clear another misunderstanding: I am not against kissing, but I like it to be by choice on both parts. Not because it is a "special day" in the year and some custom decrees it. Just as I like to be jolly and happy, when I like and not, when same custom decrees it. Though there are a lot of people, who seem to be able to be jolly only at set dates. The rest of the year they go to laugh into the cellars. That is a german saying and means: they can't have anyone see them laugh...

At any rate, I do not dislike carnival in itself, as a child I really loved it. It was wonderful. Finding a costume and singing the old songs and looking at the parades, catching candy and then have a party at my uncles house afterwards. All great fun. And going to school in costume was great as well.
Only as I grew up, I looked about me more and recognized, what I described above. That took the fun out. So, I decided to just skip it. But I still like the music and so today you will get some german carnival-songs. You may not all of you understand the texts, which is a pity, but they all have nice melodies, so it is not a complete loss. I don't own any of them, as ever...

So now you have some examples of humour in the Rhineland. These are all songs, sung bei the Cologne-based group Bläck Fööss, that means: naked feet. If you are not German, but speak some german, you might have had problems in understanding all of the text. But fear not: many Germans understand the dialect. It is called kölsch and I really can't write down, how it is pronounced. It is, at any rate, the only dialect, that one can drink as well. We have a beer, called Kölsch.

By the way: I am not from Cologne itself, but from a town nearby and I grew up with the dialect. So I can understand it and sing it (though not drink it, as I don't like beer). Speaking is not so easy, if you want to do it right.

I have on the other hand problems to understand people from Bavaria or Saconia or Friesland. So, everyone has his dialec. Do you have dialects in your country? I wonder...

Her is "Es Spanien Leed" The spanish song:

 

Sincere and Just

Well, Sincerity did not go all that bad. It couldn't really get any worth than Frugality and Industry, but even not compared with those, it went well.
I do not generally have a problem with being honest, so it was perhaps easier. Still, I did not quite cut off the babbling and I did not contrive to work as hard on my stuff, as I planned and did check things on the internet or converse with colleagues. I also had my massage during office hours. But I could actually tic off two days, that means: I did all I had planned and I only got points for two aspects.

Now we are going into Justice. Mr. Franklin wrote:

"Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefitst hat are your duty."

How to translate that into todays life? I decided the following: I will see, that I meet up with my parents, since they haven't seen me a while (we do talk on the phone regularly though). It is not
easy to meet up with my parents, because they do get around a lot: tennis, Yoga, church activies,
meeting friends, hiking, sportsgroup and taking care of my younger nieces and nephews some time.

But I'll fight for a date. :-)

At work I will take care, that I reduce the Minus hours on my time account and see that I get done all the work, that gets people paid, what they are owed. I do not owe it personally, but as an employee, I am responsible for that part of what is owed. So it will be done.

That does sound easy, but it is not always as easy as that. Because, there is a lot of calculating to be done, never my strong point. And the time-minus-reduction isn't easy either. I loathe to leave my flat right now and so it is always a fight to get to work for a start. And then I want to get back as soon as may be. So I do not stay as long, as I ought to. I do know, it sounds weak and heartless and it is both, because a lot of people do not have work to go to and I am very lucky to have a good and steady job, where I can decide, when I start my workday. But somehow, with some things: when you get used to them, you take them for granted and don't appreciate them, as you ought.

At any rate: I am always trying to improve my attitude. It is not too late, I have about 23 years to go. I might get the hang of it before that... I am just a lazy bum. Sometimes I do think, my ideal life would be to have a lot of money, no strings attached an live in a cottage in Cornwall, with a housekeeper and a gardner and a good library in the cottage or nearby. :-) Since I have neither, I make do with my work. At least I meet nice people and learn something as well.

What sort of song would be befitting to this post? I have an idea, though I don't own the clip...

Well: I entered, Time is Cash, but there was either a german Pop Group, and not always would have understood the lyrics. Then there was a clip with a warning, that I didn't have the patience to watch through and thus didn't want to bore you with or frighten or anger or whatever.

What came out clear was: Johnny CASH wrote a lot of songs about TIME. Since one of my goals is to work off my Minus in time, I thought: DOING MY TIME  would be appropriate... 

I hope, you'll enjoy it. All the best and have a nice Sunday!

Sincerity

It is the seventh virtue in Benjamin Franklins cycle of Virtues. Here is, what he had to say about it:

Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; if you speak, speak accordingly...

You will have realized, that I jumped right into sincerity and seem to have bypassed industry. But no, I did not. I am trying to be better with sincerity, than I was with industry. And - not using any sort of deceit, certainly not hurtful ones - I did suck at industry. I thought, that I was bad with industry, but it was just, because I hadn't tried out industry yet.

My work at industry was: being very late in the office and on Friday going early as well. Not doing any worthwhile housework and sports I only did on Monday. I did go walking with my girls, but since one of them got problems with her knees, I turned back early with her. And I spent a lot of time watching DVD, listening to my audi-books or playing on the computer. There: it's out.

Now I can really go on with Sincerity. How will I work that out for me, why does it come so late in the virtues? As to the latter, maybe it is, so whoever tries out this cycle can start by being sincere to themselves. And so I am sincere enough to myself to admit, that though I did make a good start, I already failed at the fifths virtue. So Sincerity can be a new start.

Therefore I decided to be sincere and hones with myself. Also to not waste my time and just do my work at work, without grumbling. There are a lot of people in the world, who would love to have a job to grumble about. And I will try not to babble so much nonsense. Not, that I tend to be intenionally unjust, but I do not always use my brain, while talking. You may know the concept, at least I hope, that others have that problem.

Now, my idea is, if I think about what I say, I will take into consideration, that I do not have all the facts about everybody and everything. So I try to think innocently and give everybody the benefit of the doubt and expect them to be honest people, who mean no harm, like me. Which I must admit, I do not always do. I am a victim to prejudice, being human.

More precisely therefore:

-   I won't deceive myself as to my motives

-   I won't expect people to be nasty

-   I will not waste my time in grumbling, but put in some extra work in to worktime. 

    (partly to make up for last week).

And I even found a song, that might work here: if you do not say all you think is right (but turns out wrong) your Silence is golden (I do not own this clip, of course)

I wish you all a good week of Sincerity.

Don't think of an elephant

Do you know this saying? That was my experience with Frugality. It didn't work at all for me. Somehow I seem to have wasted more, because of it. More energy, time and money. So I have
to do better in the secon round of virtues. Let's bury this and start on industry.
Industry meaning: to do things again. Do my work, improve my time-account, get on with my flat.
So I will do that. I did not start today though, but I will start tomorrow.

So, what did I do lately? After some nasty cramps on Friday - got the better of with the help of my doctors tablets - I cleared some stuff in my flat. And I did a lot of sleeping on Friday.
Yesterday I got the money for this week and did the weekly shopping. Due to the nasty rain we did not walk on Saturday. The others went today, but since I didn't get up before 1.10 pm, I did not go.
That and it really is my quiet day, this Sunday. My chance to keep quiet and apart from people and this prevents me from killing people on Monday. I do not get my people-disgust as often as I used to.
Sounds nasty, doesn't it. But I came to the conclusion, there is on so much human contact that I can stand. It took me quite some years to find that out and even longer to act upon it.

Now I do give me this time and a lot of people have reason to feel a lot happier. I do not throw as many tantrums... :-)

So, away from tantrums and in remembrance of Frugality-week: (I don't own it)

Enjoy your week!!