the odd virtue

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What does 'the odd virtue' even mean?

Welcome!

Hello.mp4

Hello, stranger

Hi, I'm Nicola Casserly. I go by Niki. In fact, my name was chosen to rhyme with my older brother's nickname (Riki). That's odd. Odd means "different from what is usual or expected; strange." It can be used to denote otherness--something (or someone) which falls outside the limits of local or current customs, trends, laws, and standards. Speaking of standards...

Weights and Measures

Measuring things is something we all do. It's part of being human. We give things names, and we categorize and count them. We want to know how reliable they may be, how much we can count on them to serve our purposes. But some things defy measuring. Chief among these (I will contend) is the concept of an omnipotent God. An extension of the concept of God that is arguably easier to attempt to quantify is virtue. The Odd Virtue is a platform for expressing thoughts about what it means, in the most practical, gritty sense, to live a virtuous life. Meaning, how exactly does a life concentrated on virtue serve to influence the quality of our earthly/physical life? As my schoolmates would say, "What does that have to do with the price of butter!?"

My obsession with measuring or weighing things (which I didn't know I had until I tried to choose 15 poems to put into a chapbook published by Calabash Foundation in 1995) led me to title the collection "Weights and Measures." I do a lot of my weighing in my sleep.

Photo of a section of "39 point 76181 degrees North 86 point 154688 degrees West" by Mark West - one of several works of art in The Alexander hotel in Indianapolis.

In addition to writing, I like to take photographs, especially of nature and art. You'll see lots of images in my blog. Unless otherwise noted, they were taken by me. Please don't use without permission. You'll also see snippets of lyrics and sometimes whole poems. Same goes for those.

How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

One of the principles that motivates me in this endeavor (of measuring virtue) is the idea brought to a focus in the Bahá’í Revelation that asceticism (severe self-discipline and avoidance of indulgence, for religious reasons) is not what God intends for people at this time. This makes sense to me. It seems that excellence in virtues is quite different from excellence in earthly competitions and requires a different rubric. In practical terms, the virtues one employs during a given moment, or to address a specific need, may be contradictory. For example, generosity and thrift; honesty and kindness; empathy and justice.

Another principle is found in a favorite Bible verse. Philippians 4:8-9 King James Version (KJV): "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

If this sounds interesting, use the links in the header at the top of the page to read more or to learn about me and my motives for writing.

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