Self-knowledge, Self-compassion, Humility, Tolerance

     “‘Nothing human is foreign to me,’ said Terence, the Roman philosopher, and he wasn’t kidding. We’re kaleidoscopes of contradictions, Satyricons of lust, greed, and hatred, rationalizers of fairness and justice, idolators, cheaters, and fakes – not to mention hypocrites – with hearts that long to be divine. We are moral platypuses with seemingly mismatched parts who manage to come up with healthy eggs. Pulled in opposite directions, we search each day for some sort of middle path, a balance point, to navigate our way through this obstacle course. We ask ourselves the Holy Question: How ought we to live?”

       Matousek M. Ethical wisdom. What makes us good. Random House, Toronto, 2011.