The Year of Living Virtuously: Weekends Off

by Teresa Jordan

Overview

Benjamin Franklin was in his early twenties when he embarked on a "bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection," intending to master the virtues of temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He soon gave up on perfection but continued to believe that these virtues, coupled with a generous heart and a bemused acceptance of human frailty, laid the foundation for not only a good life but also a workable society.

Writer and visual artist Teresa Jordan wondered if Franklin's perhaps antiquated notions of virtue might offer guidance to a nation increasingly divided by angry righteousness. She decided to try to live his list for a year, focusing on each virtue for a week at a time and taking weekends off to attend to the seven deadly sins.

The journal she kept became this collection of beautifully illustrated essays, weaving personal anecdotes with the views of theologians, philosophers, ethicists, evolutionary biologists, and a whole range of scholars and scientists within the emerging field of consciousness studies.

Teresa Jordan offers a wry and intimate journey into a year in midlife devoted to the challenge of trying to live authentically.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619025882
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	11/10/2015
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	589,689
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Teresa Jordan is an artist and author who grew up in a house full of books on an isolated ranch in Wyoming where the love of learning she acquired in the local one–room school carried her to Yale and into a lifetime of inquiry. Her books include the memoir Riding the White Horse Home and two illustrated journals, Field Notes from Yosemite: Apprentice to Place, and Field Notes from the Grand Canyon: Raging River, Quiet Mind. Her first book, Cowgirls: Women of the American West, was one of the earliest books to give voice to contemporary women working on the land. With her husband, Hal Cannon, she created the series "The Open Road" about the outback American West for public radio's The Savvy Traveler. She now lives in southern Utah near Zion National Park.

Read an Excerpt

The Year of Living Virtuously

Weekends Off

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By Teresa Jordan

Counterpoint

Copyright © 2015 Teresa Jordan
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61902-588-2

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In the beginning I said that I didn't expect the year to change me. Certainly I wanted to protect myself from any expectation that I was or could become a paragon of virtue, and I can safely say that I am no more virtuous now than I have ever been. But the year has changed me — that's the gift of mindfulness. After writing about the poet William Stafford's habit of clearing his desk each day so he could meet a new poem fresh each morning, I somehow abandoned a lifetime habit of clutter to find myself tidying my workspace each night before I go to bed. After exploring the new frugality, my husband I decided to downsize, selling our big old house and sorting through decades of accumulation to cut our footprint in half. Other bad habits still plague me. No matter how insightfully I have considered wrath and procrastination, I am still quick to temper and slow to get things done.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Year of Living Virtuously by Teresa Jordan. Copyright © 2015 Teresa Jordan. Excerpted by permission of Counterpoint.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Resolution On the Eve of a New Year 1

Temperance Please Pass the Peppermints 4

Cleanliness Cleanliness and Its Caveats 8

Silence Making Space for Conversation 12

Courage The Truth of the Land 17

Pride The Pride of Work, The Work of Pride 27

Sloth Everything I Need to Know About Sloth I Learned from Critters 34

Industry The Hard Work of Staying Still 39

Listening Listening to the Devil's Trill 44

Order A Pomegranate of Impossible Tasks 47

Habit Some Thoughts on In-habitation 51

Frugality Stepping Off the Hedonic Treadmill 55

Homecoming Rethinking Nostalgia 59

Governance What George Might Say 63

Sincerity Giving Voice to Untold Stories 70

Greed Is It Greed or Is It Gravity? 77

Empathy The Aftermath 81

Justice For the Horses 85

Wrath Coming Back to Ourselves 92

Love Traveling at the Speed of Love 98

Gluttony A Re-enchantment with Food 101

Chastity and Lust A Psychology of Sex 107

Creativity Why We Need Art (and Why We Make It or We Don't) 113

Envy Envy and Its Discontents 119

Resolution (And Vanity) Becoming Helenka 123

Humility The Listener 129

Jealousy (And Other Trials of Love) Cupid: The Soap Opera 135

Tranquility Introduction 144

Tranquility The Long Road: Terry Waite's Story 146

Tranquility The Long Road: Brooke Hopkins's Story 151

Self-Reliance Ben Franklin, Ayn Rand, and the American Spirit 159

Curiosity Growing Pains 171

Procrastination Do It… Next 177

Grumpiness The Grouch Settles In 183

Stubbornness Holding On for Dear Life 187

Trust Will Rogers, Where Are You Now? 199

Defensiveness and Faith Choosing Our Battles 209

Gladness The Mysterious Lightness of Being 217

Punctuality The Gift of Time 223

Gratitude Thanksgiving: A Christmas Story 230

Forgiveness The Heroic Choice 236

Control (And Faith) The Green Bean Testament 245

Balance On the High Wire 248

Manners The Good Hand 256

Moderation All I Want for Christmas… is a Truce in the War on Christmas 262

Afterword 267

Acknowledgments 277

Sources 279

Acknowledgments and Permissions 295

Index 297

Editorial Reviews

"With philosophical dexterity, she explores, searches and scrutinizes commonplace notions of right and wrong....This compelling set of reflections is poetic in its scope, and Jordan's meditations are thought–provoking and insightful"—Deseret News Reviews

"Writer and visual artist Jordan takes a page from Benjamin Franklin and embarks on a yearlong quest to master the 13 virtues Franklin explored in his 'project of arriving at moral perfection.' While perfection is not in the cards, the process of trying is both fun and eye–opening." —O Magazine

". . .an engaging and moving collection. . ." —Wall Street Journal

"When you begin this book of modern meditations, you will simply want to keep reading it, having fallen under the spell of Teresa Jordan's marvelous and many–faceted investigation into our notions of virtue and vice. You can open The Year of Living Virtuously to any chapter – to Lust or Greed or Gluttony, or Balance, Manners, or Moderation – and find wit and quiet wisdom. The extraordinary stories and sources Jordan draws on for her meditations, ranging from the personal to the neuro–cognitive, remind us that we can choose where to place our attention and, as we live more mindfully, not only endure the difficult moments but find the tranquility we seek." —Judith Freeman, author of Red Water and The Long Embrace

"Thoughtful reflections on virtue and vice.. . .Jordan successfully incorporates lessons gleaned from formative moments in her own life with those from the biographies of relative unknowns and artists and thinkers as famous as Franklin, and she delves deep, especially in the more extended essays, into the essence of contrasting modes of being.. . .Jordan's engaging collection abounds with provocative inquiry, offering plenty of food for thought." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2014-10-05
Thoughtful reflections on virtue and vice.Prompted by her 2010 blog of the same name, native Wyoming writer Jordan (Field Notes from Yosemite, 2003, etc.) collects various postings and essays inspired by Benjamin Franklin's list of 13 virtues. Franklin's aspiration, undertaken in his early 20s, was to attempt "the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection." Jordan's yearlong expository expedition led her to examine morality on a weekly basis—notably with "weekends off"—through a "weave of story and science." What "started as a way to practice writing," Jordan admits, led to the greater project of finding "a way to practice life." Along the way, the author used each of Franklin's virtues—temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, humility—and the seven deadly sins—lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy, pride—as a springboard for contemplation. Though Jordan's subjects lend advice aplenty for self-improvement, these philosophical thoughts stop short of being dogmatic. Jordan successfully incorporates lessons gleaned from formative moments in her own life with those from the biographies of relative unknowns and artists and thinkers as famous as Franklin, and she delves deep, especially in the more extended essays, into the essence of contrasting modes of being. Particularly keen are Jordan's observations on the seven deadly sins: on envy—"The seven sins are not equal-opportunity tormentors….Only envy offers no reward. It doesn't even have to focus on a rival to ruin our day"; gluttony—"Ever since Eve snagged that apple and offered it to Adam, food has been fraught with complication"; pride—"Of all the vices, pride is the most likely to invite debate about whether it is a sin at all." Jordan's engaging collection abounds with provocative inquiry, offering plenty of food for thought.

Kirkus Reviews