By ​Nicole Slaughter-Graham

​​I’ve been reading Dr. Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly, and I can’t help but think of the parallels between the book’s main focus—vulnerability—and the virtue of Openness.
 
Dr. Brown’s book centers on the importance of vulnerability and how we as a society need to embrace vulnerability as an asset rather than a short-coming. She describes vulnerability as the stripping away of ego so that one can show his or her true self to the world. She states that the ability to be vulnerable—to make mistakes, speak our truth, and listen with an open mind—are necessary to connect with others, and connection with others is of the utmost importance for humankind.

Her philosophy mirrors the virtue of Openness. This particular virtue requires “being honest, clear and sincere, and sharing who we are and what we feel without pretense."

By Nicole Graham-Slaughter

NPR recently reported that we are less empathetic when we’ve been through the same situation as someone else. So wait… what does this mean? According to NPR, if someone comes to you needing sympathy because they’re struggling with the burden of being a single parent, but you too, are a single parent, then you might not have as much empathy as someone who isn’t a single parent.
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When I first heard this, I thought there was no way it was true. Surely, someone who’s been through the same situation as another person would have more empathy right? They know where that person is coming from. They can identify with the feelings and burdens that situation entails, right? Apparently not. According to NPR’s social science correspondent, Shankar Vedantam, a person who has been through the same predicament you have is going to show less empathy because he or she deals with that same problem on a daily basis. It’s actually better to reach out to someone who hasn’t experienced your hardship if you want to receive empathy. 

By Nicole Graham-Slaughter, freelance writer and journalist.

About a week ago, I found myself at my desk doing anything but my job. Though I had projects to start (and projects to finish) and deadlines to hit, I couldn’t seem to muster up the discipline to get things done. I was surfing Facebook, allowing myself to get distracted by interesting headlines and useless quizzes.
 
Subconsciously, I’d pulled my old procrastination habit out of the closet for another go. Deadlines started creeping up or my manager would ask me about my progress o a specific project, and I’d scramble to accumulate information and put haphazard finishing touches on assignments.
 
And then I was sent to a conference for work. One of the first sessions was on office etiquette and how to win over customers. Though not directly related to customer service, a point the presenter made resonated with me to the core. She said, “Under promise, and over deliver. If you say you’ll have something to someone by Wednesday, get it to them on Tuesday at the latest.”
 
Simple. And yet so powerful.

By Linda Kavelin-Popov, Co-founder of The Virtues Project

In our upcoming trip out of these islands, which have become our home, Dan and I have agreed to briefly come out of retirement to speak at conferences and facilitate some healing work with First Nations. It is work we love, so it is likely to empower us rather than drain us. We're praying and reflecting on what we, as elders, can share.
More than two and a half decades of writing about the Divine virtues, constantly studying and trying to live by them, I am still in awe of them. One reason is that there is always more to learn. I believe it is because they are the infinite qualities of God and of our souls, as we attempt to reflect the image and likeness of our Creator

By: Jessica Scott, Secretary for the Virtues Circle

By Cathy Burns, President of Virtues Circle

By Nicole Graham Slaughter, Guest Blogger

By Jessica Scott, Treasurer for the Virtues Circle

The Virtue of Appreciation is one we try to practice continuously here at the Virtues Circle! It encourages us to be thankful for the many gifts we each contribute in sharing our message with our fellows.

What it is

Appreciation is the practice of recognizing the blessings in our life and showing thanks for them. When we are Appreciative, we naturally practice other virtues such as Gratitude, Thoughtfulness, Kindness and Respect.