Moderation
Moderation is a fundamental virtue of life. And when I say “virtue” I am not referring to its moral, ascetic and religious meaning, but to its etymological sense: force. Moderation means calm life force, serene and invincible energy.
It comprises sanity, restraint, temperance. Sanity: the sound judgement of cordiality. Restraint: the wisdom inspired by the measure of all things and of ourselves. Temperance: the balance of free, tempered desire.
Moderation calls for suppression and renunciation, but is not inspired or motivated by them. Nor is it the outcome of effort. Don’t force anything, don’t force yourself. The wise Laozi taught: “He who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm, he who takes long steps cannot go very far” (Dao De Jing, 24). Let the power of your deepest self flow.
Moderation emerges when we accept our shadows and wounds, and open ourselves to deep breath. Ambitions dissolve and complexes dissipate. We do not need to fight against ourselves and against that which, in others, threatens our illusory dreams of grandeur. We have nothing to defend, no one to attack. We become modest, humble. And calm, steadfast restraint emerges.
Moderation is our natural, true self. And we are not far away, although it may seem so to us. Only one step remains to be taken: to recognise and accept the ghosts, fears and anxieties that dwell in us, and let them fade away without defending or attacking you. Without condemning yourself for what you are, or aspiring to what you are not.
But moderation is not a merely personal, private matter, but an eminently social, economic, political, ecological and planetary one. The same is true of the Middle Way taught by the Buddha: it is not mere (false) “spiritual” detachment, nor mere (fictitious) “middle ground” between two extremes, but humanity, committed compassion. Moderation is a solidarity-based way of living, working, producing and consuming in a world where excesses committed by some lead to devastating shortages for others, where predatory opulence of some tears apart human equality and the balance of life on the planet. Moderation –sanity, restraint, temperance– entails looking at reality in a political way, a global political programme, peaceful, subversive political action against the prevailing inhumane system. The survival of humanity and the planetary community of the living is at stake in personal and shared moderation.
And ultimately, personal and political moderation springs out of deep trust and is underpinned by it. It is expressed thus in Psalm 131, one of the most profound and beautiful psalms in the Bible:
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I
exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned
of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.[1]
Our egocentric selves are childish, fickle, restless, the unconscious prey to superficial needs and desires. This psalm is a hymn to peace, an invitation to subdue, moderate and accept our egotistic desire, like a child in its mother’s arms.
If you find this simple Psalm inspiring, learn it by heart and repeat it often, especially when your pretensions to greatness spoil your peace, and every night when you go to bed, place your trust in the innermost depths of yourself and your neighbour, in the Breath of Life that begets and sustains all that is.
Aizarna (Basque Country), 1 March, 2021
(Published in VARIOS, Respira tu ser, Ediciones feadulta.com, Madrid 2021)
Translated by Sarah J. Turtle
[1] KJV