A Small Tidbit of Aristotle

From the Nichomachean Ethics, Book II, chapter 9:

"Enough has been said, then, to show that virtue of character is a mean, and in what sense it is so; that it is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency; and that it is such because it is the sort of thing able to hit the mean in feelings and actions. This is why it is hard to be good, because in each case it is hard to find the middle point; for instance, not everyone can find the centre of a circle, but only the person with knowledge. So too anyone can get angry, or give and spend money - these are easy; but doing them in relation to the right person, in the right amount, at the right time, with the right aim in view, and in the right way - that is not something anyone can do, nor is it easy. This is why excellence in these things is rare, praiseworthy and noble."

I won't go into any details concerning my personal problems and issues, but I will say that I have been becoming more and more aware of the truth of the above paragraph for some time now. It's hard to be good.