Ben and Me_ From Temperance to Humility - Cameron Gunn [99]
Well, it wasn’t stallion, but I’d take it.
So that’s what others thought, but what about me? Did I actually improve through this course of virtues? You want the truth (admit it, you’re thinking of Jack Nicholson right now, aren’t you)?
Okay, let’s start with the obvious. I began this course by, unfortunately, stepping on the scale. As you will recall, I was a bison-like 250 pounds. I willed myself, at the conclusion of the program, to step back on the scale (despite the setback in the doctor’s office). To my surprise, I weighed 235 pounds.
That’s not bad. Accounting for breaks, extra weeks, and delay, this thirteen-week course took about sixteen weeks. Unless my math is completely off, that’s almost one pound lost per week. I think most nutritionists and diet experts would suggest that that is a healthy weight loss. And I did it without cutting out many of the foods that I enjoy. I might have been temperate after all.
Have there been other successes? Certainly my system of Order seems to have survived the entire program. I continue to monitor my emails and rid myself of unnecessary clutter with some regularity. That is not to say that I have become an Order guru. I have discovered, however, the virtue of organization. For that alone I am thankful to Mr. Franklin.
I BELIEVE I HAVE REINFORCED THE VALUE OF THE VIRTUES I THINK I already possessed in some measure: Tranquillity and Sincerity in particular (okay, Sincerity took a recent licking, and I almost slapped a defense lawyer the other day, but even Ben recognized that occasional transgressions would remain). Let’s be frank, I needed some Tranquillity just to get through the course.
Those virtues that I thought would be the most elusive were indeed so; some seemed almost impossible. I had the most difficulty with the virtues that were more abstract, the least with the practical. That may be a reflection of my nature or the product of a limited imagination.
What about those big questions, the ones to which I claimed not to be seeking answers? I’d be lying if I said I started this only for the fun of eating less and not watching television. The truth is that I was inspired by the words of Walter Isaacson (which I quoted in the prologue of this book). Here, again, is what he wrote:
It is useful for us to engage anew with Franklin, for in doing so we are grappling with a fundamental issue: How does one live a life that is useful, virtuous, worthy, moral and spiritually meaningful?1
When I read these words, I wanted the answer to the question. How does one live a life that is useful, virtuous, worthy, moral, and spiritually meaningful? I wanted to know for myself and for Benjamin Franklin and for all the people of the world who cry out for meaning and purpose in their lives. I wanted to know it because I think that the search for meaning is the one characteristic that binds all humanity: a desire to have purpose, to do good, to leave a legacy, to be remembered.
Remember the response that Peter Short (the former Moderator of the United Church) gives to people who ask him, “How can I make my life more meaningful?” He tells people to turn that “how” into a “why.” He wants them to ask themselves, “Why do I want my life to be more meaningful?”
I sidestepped the question earlier, but I am ready to answer it, at least for myself, after these past thirteen-plus weeks. I mentioned my grandparents in Chapter 12, “Chastity.” Their gravestone reads, “Life’s Work Well Done.” That’s why I followed Franklin. I want someone, somewhere, after I have passed, to say of my time that it was “life’s work well done.”
BUT THAT’S NOT IT COMPLETELY. I DON’T THINK BEN FRANKLIN (NOR I) was seeking only personal satisfaction and aggrandizement. Despite criticism to the contrary, I believe that Franklin’s course was, at its core, altruistic. Sure, he was trying to achieve personal success, but there was more to