August 2017—Discovering Virtuous Character Strengths
It is hard to believe that summer has been flying by so quickly! I anticipated a blog post in early July, though seemed to be side-tracked by a busy month of activity, work and time out of the office. The beautiful photo above is a scene from a recent family trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park. This picture is from Zion National Park, a real treasure as far as national parks are concerned. I marveled at the gorgeous red rock formations, cliffs, and mountains in this beautiful place in Utah as we hiked and rode up and down the amazing mountainous landscape. This is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and I strongly recommend it if you have never been there. While this is purely coincidental, I find it fulfilling that the virtuous character strength for July is gratitude, and I experienced great appreciation and thankfulness in being able to make this incredible trip with my family. What might you be thankful or grateful for this month? Express that appreciation to someone you love or lift up this gratitude in a quiet meditation or prayer. Other character traits to examine these months include: Friendship and Virtue
July- Gratitude: “the quality of being thankful”, “showing appreciation for and to return kindness”. Synonyms: gratefulness, thankfulness, indebtedness. Quote: “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude”.- A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh, #1
August- Friendship: “the emotions or conduct of friends, state of being friends, relationship between friends”, “state of mutual trust and support between allied nations. Synonyms: attachment, association, bond, union, camaraderie, companionship, fellowship. Quote: “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”- Albert Schweitzer
September- Virtue: “behavior showing high moral standards”. Synonyms: righteousness, integrity, honor, respectability, goodness, morality, purity. Quote: “Ability may get you to the top but it’s character that will keep you there”.- Abraham Lincoln
Wishing you all a wonderful remainder of the summer, with (hopefully) cooler temperatures soon and positive interactions with those you love.
Blessings,
Linda Cook
LMHC
