Dedicant Path: Week 44 – “The Nine Virtues: Moderation”

Moderation

Dedicant Path manual definition:

Cultivating one’s appetites so that one is neither a slave to them nor driven to ill health (mental or physical) through excess or deficiency

Dictionary.com definition:

1. the quality of being moderate; restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses; temperance.
2. the act of moderating.

Moderation is the virtue of balance and suggests that this evenness can be maintained by avoiding extremes. Often moderation is attached to activities such as eating and drinking, which is a very good example of the virtue in action. For example, if one were to eat too much unhealthy food over a long period of time, imbalances will begin occur within the body that could cause illness. However, like all things, moderation extends beyond the physical realm. This virtue can also be helpful in social situations where issues that could potentially cause a passionate response are discussed. By moderating emotion, and to a good degree the topic itself, what could have become a heated argument has now become an insightful discussion that lays the foundation for learning. While moderating excess is important, what is equally relevant is moderating inadequacies as well. To use the previous example concerning the consumption of food, while eating too much food can cause health problems, so too can eating too little.

Moderation is a virtue of health and balance, which makes it a great virtue to promote in ADF. We simply could not effectively honor the Kindreds, or contribute to the vision of ADF, if we are unhealthy physically, mentally, and socially. In my opinion, I believe the ADF definition of moderation is better than the Dictionary.com definition because it is more inclusive of what moderation entails. Not only does the ADF definition address excess, but it also acknowledges the hazards of deprivation, which is equally important.