The Personal Virtues (Part One)

Centeredness and Courage are the root and the wellspring of all other virtues.

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all others.
—Aristotle

History remembers the virtuous. Carry Moses’s staff. Ride Arjuna’s chariot. Peer through Galileo’s lens. You will be remembered not just for the actions you took, but for the virtues you practiced.

In our order, there are two major clusters of virtues: personal and social. Each requires daily practice, but one set emphasizes striving for excellence, while the other set emphasizes seeking harmony with others. Commitment to personal virtues sometimes generates prosocial effects, and practicing social virtues can support individual growth, but the emanations are distinct.

Today, let us explore two of the six personal virtues.

Centeredness: The Stillness Within

The art of self-possession is strength in serenity, which anchors the spirit when the tempests toss us. The centered man doesn’t escape into gnosis but sits at home in his body like Milarepa in the meditation cave. When adversity mounts, he might tremble, but equipoise is possible with practice.

Within each of us, three forces guide and govern. These may be called the Three Executives.
One rules in the mind, another in the heart, and the third in the body.

Each person is led naturally by one above the others:
The Executive of the Mind seeks understanding, shaping thoughts and plans through reason and reflection; The Executive of the Heart feels deeply—attuned to the ebb and flow of relationships and emotions; The Executive of the Gut acts swiftly, trusting instinct and moving with purpose.

To live wisely, one must not allow a single Executive to rule alone. But alignment requires practice.

Centeredness is not the denial of fear, grief, or inevitable storms, but mastery of the navigation wheel. It forms an inner sanctuary through resolve, reflection, and repose. The scribe who writes with a steady hand despite uncertainty embodies centeredness. So does the wanderer who greets misfortune with resolve. To waver is human. To remain steadfast upon the waves is divine.

To cultivate centeredness, one must practice alignment, that is, to balance the cognitive, affective, and visceral. We find equipoise so that we may dwell in the present, untroubled by past sorrows or future fears. Breathe in as sages say to, with long out-breaths, letting each exhalation be a step toward peace.

Centeredness is the root virtue. Without it, the soul will be a raft on a tumultuous sea.

Galileo stands before the Inquisitors.

Courage: The Wellspring of Will

If centeredness is the root, courage is the wellspring that flows into bold action. It is not the absence of dread but the virtue we practice to overcome it.

Courage impels us forward despite our fears, to face our doubts and refuse to yield to their poisonous grip.

A dreamer pursues his vision relentlessly even as skeptics scoff. A pilgrim treads a perilous path, and her heart races, yet her steps are firm. Courage is a mother who stands up for her child against the tutting schoolmarm, or the poet who, with a trembling voice, delivers her words to a council of critics.

Courage turns intention into action. Without it, the other virtues lie dormant.

The will brings virtue to life, but it must drink from bravery’s wineskin. Yet wisdom must guide courage, lest it become recklessness. To nurture courage in wisdom, face small fears daily—stare down terror when it grips, speak when silence tempts, and act when doubt lingers.

Each motion strengthens the spirit, until courage becomes not a fleeting surge but a constant flow.

We will return to the personal virtues in a future installment. (Part Two here. Part Three here.)_