Cultivate Humility!
May 30, 2011 by admin
Filed under Spiritual Growth
Lets begin by removing a few misconceptions.
Humility is not an excuse for being shy, laid back, a pushover or an excuse for false modesty.
In the dictionary one of the words closely linked to humility is meekness, and again meekness is often mis-interpreted as weakness.
The word humble originates from the latin humilis which means low or humus which means ground.
It is easy to understand how, the word low has spawned the general mis-representation of humility as low in station, submissive, deferential and unpretentious.
A truly humble person is all of these things but, (and this is important) in the right context. The wrong context being, a humble person is not supposed to be a person who is a carpet for other ‘less humble people’ to walk on.
I mentioned the word Humus which means ground. A truly humble person is a grounded person.
They work in partnership with spiritual principle and natural laws. Think about the ground or the soil for a minute. It has been here forever, it knows stuff that we dont, and its greatest work goes on in silence.
A well grounded person chooses to work in partnership with such a force by being aware of their station, they are submissive to its principles, they defer to its ways, and they are not pretentious about their own abilities to try and make anything happen outside of the partnership.
When I titled this post cultivate humility, I didn’t’ fully appreciate the connection between the word humility and the ground/soil. Cultivation is an essential part of producing something from the soil.
In closing, humility is an approach to life that says “I don’t have all the answers and I welcome your contribution.”
Humility is acceptance of one’s limitations — I cannot do it alone — balanced with a sense of resolve to do something. The farmer still has to plant the seeds.
To underscore your commitment to cultivate humility, you are offered a cast iron guarantee in ‘The Beatitudes’…….. The meek will inherit the earth.
Nigel Ipinson-Fleming
Emerge Me Personal Development
