Hi,
"There
are many traits in each human being; this one is different from that one, and
extremely distant from him. Some are people of rage, always angry. Some have
settled minds, never angry – and if they are ever angry, it is once in many
years. Some are extremely arrogant, and some are extremely humble, and some are
desirous, never satisfied from pursuing desire, and some are of very pure
heart, not desiring even the little that the body needs. And some have a broad
spirit, unsatisfied even with all of the world's wealth, like Ecclesiastes 5:9,
'One who loves silver will never have enough silver.' And some reduce
their spirit, sufficing with even a little that isn't actually enough for them,
and not pursuing all of their needs…
"Between each trait and its extreme opposite are intermediate traits,
equidistant from each end. And in the set of all traits, some traits are
congenital, per the nature of one's body, and some are traits toward which a
person's nature is directed and which he will acquire more quickly than other
traits, and some traits are lacking in a person from birth, but he learns them
from others, or he turns himself to them independently due to a thought in his
heart, or he hears that this is a good trait, worthy of following, and he
habituates himself to it until it is established in his heart.
"The
two extremes in each trait are not a good path; one should neither follow them
nor teach them to himself. Should he find that his nature is inclined toward
one of them or prepared for them, or he has already learned one of them and
practiced it, he should bring himself back to the good and travel the path of
the good, the straight path."
(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deiot 1:1-3)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
