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    • Prairie Tidings (Church Blog)
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Mountain Ancestors Grove, ADF

A Year of Contemplation

Give People the Benefit of the Doubt (Day 288)

10/15/2019

 
Everything turns on your assumptions about it, and that’s on you. You can pluck out the hasty judgement at will, and like steering a ship around the point, you will find calm seas, fair weather, and a safe port.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.22

Is it inherently virtuous to give someone the benefit of the doubt?

Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is Hospitable, Courageous, Wise… it would seem that giving someone the benefit of the doubt IS inherently virtuous, right? 

We cannot forget, however, that in the pursuit of virtue, there is more than just embodying said virtue, OR not embodying said virtue. If we give someone the benefit of the doubt with the foreknowledge of past hurts and traumas, what we’re offering to them is the “idiot” version of this virtue. Also, if we give someone a break, knowing they’ve changed, then use that “break” against them for sociocultural leverage, then we’d be “weaponizing” the virtue. 

Perhaps giving someone the benefit of the doubt, much akin to being Wise, or having Integrity, or embodying other virtues… has room for ego’s selfish influence. 

Seek virtuous kindness without ego. It's harder than you think. 

​If you think it isn't, that's your ego talking. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

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    About the Blog

    Awakening the desire to explore Stoicism, and how it relates to his existing beliefs, Rev. William committed to working through the text, The Daily Stoic, a year-long journey to awaken the Stoic mind. 
    How things are structured can be found in the first post. 

    About the Author

    Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Rev. William attended Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado where in 2007 he graduated with a degree in Religious Studies, minoring in Psychology. Currently residing in Longmont, CO, he is one of the Priests and founder of Mountain Ancestors Grove.  He spends his time playing mandolin (and some guitar), writing, engaging in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and education, community service, and sharing a larger vision of how a polytheist perspective can lead to greater human understanding, acceptance, and gods be good, peace. 

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