"NOTHING IN EXCESS" is the aphorism carved on the front of the temple at Delphi.
It is difficult not to feel worried when the leading international business oracles aren't sure how to solve the current financial crisis. And we already had worries enough: Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, gas and food prices.
Our national culture emphasizes eternal optimism and self-confidence, so until a disaster is upon us, it is tough, and as some would even say, unpatriotic, to express our fears. But not revealing fears, therapists will tell you, can become dangerous and destructive. It is the ability to face those fears and find a way to move forward that now challenges us.
We have been through tough times before, and sometimes a lot of good eventually emerges from the experience. While we wouldn't choose to be ill, for example, we often come to the realization when we are better that it has been a good learning experience.
FDR once said, "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself," and those difficult times gave birth to important social programs like Social Security and more recently, Medicare. Perhaps after this lesson of what irresponsible excesses eventually produce, we will return to more prudent behavior.
Our country was founded on the principles of hard work and frugality, but we have been lulled into a never-ending spending spree of almost gluttonous proportions. It is no longer fashionable to save for "a rainy day" or to put off buying something until you have the cash in hand.
We have even admired and emulated the socially conspicuous consumers such as Paris Hilton and Donald Trump whose extreme and selfish lifestyles were made into a hit television series, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
We have bought into the seductive philosophy of our government, financial institutions and media that our reckless lifestyles of today would have no future consequences. While there is no such thing as complete security, not if we also value our liberty, because complete security entails a loss of freedom and complete freedom creates chaos and no security, there is a socially responsible middle ground.
The "golden mean" introduced by Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago is the behavior that falls equidistant between extremes, the right ethical amount of any given quality. Generosity, for example, is the golden mean between miserliness and extravagance. The golden mean between complete panic is not blind unconcern, but prudence. The golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess, the other of deficiency.
This is a time that above all, we need to maintain our equilibrium. Aristotle believed we should not be naively optimistic, but realistically so — expecting life to be hard, but still believing in the ultimate triumph of good, still passionate about our beliefs and values.
I am reminded of a prayer by an ancient Islamic calligrapher, "O Lord, make things easy and do not make them difficult. Make everything come out well." To which I'll add a heartfelt, "Amen."
Jean Cherni
is founder of Senior Living Solutions, a retirement advisory
service. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or
15 The Ponds, Branford 06405.
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