Oh. My. Goodness.

Now I'm all for modesty, don't get me wrong, but even a virtue can be taken to an extreme. Chesterton, in his book "Orthodoxy" explains that an isolted virtue separated from the influence of all the other virtues can cause more damage than a vice, and be harder to recognize; for instance patience needs to be tempered by justice or it could morph into passivity; prudence needs generosity or it risks becoming miserly; courage needs wisdom... you get the picture.

I guess it's easy in a culture such as ours to be hyper- vigilant. Here is a website my sister sent me; it reminded me of Chesterton. Here, in my opinion, is an example of modesty functioning in isolation.

www.wholesomewear.com (you'll have to cut and paste, can't figure out how to make these &*$#@ links active!)

It's kind of sad. We're here to transform the world we live in, not remain so totally apart from it that we can't engage our culture. These swimsuits give more coverage than you would need to attend church on Sunday! I'm not trying to poke fun, it just seems so extreme.

Speaking of the idea of virtue- I remember a nun explaining to me that we all have a natural bent toward certain virtues by way of our personalities; some of us are naturally patient or naturally brave. However she said not to mistake these inborne qualities for real virtue- they need to be perfected and elevated by developing the opposite virtueto be authentic. Real virtue has to be learned. So someone who, by nature is quiet and patient is practicing real virtue when they speak up and stand for truth even when it means acting against their own placid personality. And conversely, someone who is naturally brave and outspoken is truly growing when they can remain silent in the face of something that sparks their ire. This is an encouraging thought to me, because it means that we can never judge by the exterior, or compare ourselves to others. So while I may need to work on courage and speaking up for the truth even if it may mean being disliked, some of those brave souls whom I admire so much may be trying to master the art of keeping better guard over their temper.

Chemo on Monday. Don't know how long it will be before I am back online. Will post as soon as I can, as I know there is nothing more frustrating than intermittent postings. What excuse will I use once chemo is over? I guess I'll have to figure that one out later.