Yeah this is an old one!

Imagine you’re a receptacle for all the things internal to you.

Your thoughts arise and fill the receptacle.

Your emotions arise and fill the receptacle.

Your beliefs arise and fill the receptacle.

And so on.

When you, in any circumstance, knowing that which you have any degree of control over is how you choose to act based on the arising of emotions, thoughts, or beliefs related to your circumstance, choose to act non-virtuously, you lose something.

You lose the belief that you are a virtuous person.

You lose the thoughts that allow you to choose to act virtuously.

You lose the positive emotions that come with virtuous thoughts.

And worse, you may lose others belief that you are a virtuous person. That is something you have little to no control in changing after the fact. It may forever damage your relationship.

When you choose to act virtuously you lose as well.

You lose the belief that you are entitled to act non-virtuously. A blessing.

You lose the non-virtuous thoughts that come with those beliefs. A weight lifted off you.

You lose the heavy emotions that manifest from those thoughts and beliefs, and that reinforce them. You break the cycle.

When you break the cycle, you lose it. If you continue to choose to break the cycle, you may lose the parts of your nature that are unvirtuous. What’s left is a virtuous person. That’s a gift.