Calling all Christians and non-Christians alike! This past week was the celebration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. All Saints’ Day is a Christian solemnity celebrated on November 1 to remember all of the saints of the church who are in Heaven. All Souls’ Day is a day of remembrance celebrated on November 2 to pray for all those who have died but might not be in Heaven yet.
These holidays give Christians the chance to reflect on their lives. They can call to mind where they have been succeeding in living Christian lives and where they have been failing. However, it can be difficult to know what steps to take to live a more saintly life. “The Art of Living” by Edward Sri is the perfect book for guidance on how to live a more saintly life.
Whether you are a Christian or non-Christian, this book offers great tips on how to live a more virtuous life. Well it is written from a Catholic perspective, people of all denominations and no denomination can learn a thing or two from it.
“The Art of Living” By Edward Sri Review
The book is split into two parts. The first part deals with explaining virtue, why it is important to be virtuous in life, what it means to be virtuous and three key ways in how to grow in virtue. The second part goes into great detail on what the four cardinal virtues are and how to live them out. The four cardinal virtues are prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice.
Prudence
Sri describes prudence as the virtue that “directs all the other virtues” (Sri 69). In order to live out the other virtues correctly, one has to have prudence. Prudence is practical wisdom as it allows one to know reality, know what has to be done and make the best decision accordingly. Prudence “enables us to make good decisions based on the true goal and purpose of life” (Sri 69).
This virtue of practical wisdom in prudence can be beneficial to everyone. A college student needs prudence when deciding what classes to take, what to get involved in, what major to pursue, what internship to accept, what path to take after graduation, etc. Wisdom is needed in every important decision in life, and there are plenty of those for college students. This section dives deep into the virtue of prudence and practical steps to take to better live it out.
Fortitude
Whether we like to admit it or not, fear has a stronghold in a lot of our lives. Fear of rejection keeps one from pursuing a desired relationship; fear of failing keeps one from pursuing a major of choice; fear of other people’s opinion keeps one from being their true selves in college; fear can control you and keep you from living the life you truly desire to live. Fortitude is synonymous with courage and is the “virtue that moderates our fears” (Sri 107). Failures and setbacks are inevitable in life, especially in the life of a college student. This section explains how to achieve fortitude in order to keep fear from controlling your life.
Temperance
Temperance is all about having self-control and being able to moderate your pleasures. While seeking pleasure is not inherently bad, it can be if you overindulge yourself. For example, drinking on the weekend is not inherently bad. However, drinking excessively to the point where your life is in danger can lead to drastic consequences. Another example could be hanging out with friends. Spending time with your friends is important for happiness and community. However, hanging out with them excessively to the point where you are not taking the time to study and complete work is dangerous.
Sri explains how temperance is “not about denying ourselves pleasure; rather, it is about giving us the ability to take delight in life’s greatest goods” (Sri 151). Temperance is about moderating our pleasures in a way that we can enjoy them in a healthy way that is not harmful to another aspect of our life. This section addresses how to achieve this moderation and balance, which is so crucial to the life of a college student in so many aspects.
Justice
The virtue of justice is less about what you deserve and more about what others deserve. “Justice is the steady, habitual disposition to give others what is due to them” (Sri 201). Justice is not only a virtue necessary in college but in life. Being able to give people the respect, kindness, and dignity they deserve is important no matter who you are. In college, you run into many different kinds of people. Regardless of what you agree with or not, it is important to give each person what they deserve: respect. If you struggle with treating all people perfectly, this section dives into why it is important and how to go about doing it.
Likes
The author does a great job of explaining each virtue in detail so you have a firm grasp on it. He also goes into why the virtue is important and how developing the virtue can change your life for the better. Sri is very vulnerable as he offers examples from his own life on how not living out these virtues has negatively affected him. This makes the book very relatable and encouraging as he then offers how starting to live out the virtues has improved his life. The practical steps he offers also leaves you with actual ways on how to go about living out the virtues.
Dislikes
There was not anything major that I disliked about this book! The one complaint I would have is sometimes his writing was very deep and complex that it was a little difficult to understand. However, for the majority of the book he does a great job of explaining everything in a simple way. Also, if you take the time to sit with a more complex sentence for a few minutes, you will understand it.
Rating
I give this book 5/5 stars. I love how human and honest he is with the readers. He does not think he is above everyone and needs to instruct us on how to live a virtuous life. Instead, he admits how he has failed and living out the virtues has helped his life. The book is basically a huge collection of advice on how to live a more fulfilling life. I also love how applicable this book is to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation. Whether you believe in God or not, living with wisdom, courage, self-control and respect can only help you in life.
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If you are struggling with living out any of these virtues, I suggest giving this book a chance. Not only is this book a good read, but it offers advice that you can take with you into the real world! I have already noticed improvements in my own life from reading this book and applying it to my life. It challenges you and pushes you to live better in the best way possible.
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