One virtue that almost every religion and philosophical belief system holds highly is humility. To be humble is to be ever cognizant of our own fallibility and consciously to eschew pride and vanity. The truly humble person recognizes the interconnections inherent in life and works to promote peace, health and shared community by lifting others up, instead of using others as stepping stones.
In humility, we find one of life's great paradoxes. Our world would be a much safer and friendlier place if our leaders were humble people, but the truly humble, by their very nature, don't seek to lead. So, into this void steps those who are vain, uncompromising and power hungry. While the humble person looks to be one among many, the conceited, status-seeking person craves to be first among all.
According to the Christian faith, Jesus is quoted as saying in the Book of Mark (10:43-44), "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all."
Imagine if the leaders in the U.S., England, Israel and Iran took this message to heart. Would our world be beset by so much saber rattling?
In The Confucian Analects, it is written, "He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."
Imagine if political candidates took this message to heart and decided to campaign solely on substantive issues without resorting to mudslinging and hyperbole. Might more citizens become passionate about the political process?
According to Dhammapada 63 of Buddhism, "The fool who knows that he is a fool is for that very reason a wise man; the fool who thinks he is wise is called a fool indeed."
Imagine if more of our leaders were able to admit to mistakes and errors in judgment. Would this not encourage the general public to incorporate humility in our daily lives?
Samanasuttam 136 of the Jainian religion urges us to "subdue pride by modesty, overcome hypocrisy by simplicity, and dissolve greed by contentment."
Imagine if corporate leaders took these ideas to heart by treating their workers and customers as unique individuals, not merely as commodities to be manipulated. Would this not cause a revolution against poverty and environmental degradation?
In Hinduism, it is written in the Laws of Manu 2.162, "A brahmin should ever shrink from honor as from poison, and should always be desirous of disrespect as if of ambrosia."
Imagine if all of us took these words and the others presented to heart. Would not humility become the norm, not the exception?
In humility, we find one of life's great paradoxes. Our world would be a much safer and friendlier place if our leaders were humble people, but the truly humble, by their very nature, don't seek to lead. So, into this void steps those who are vain, uncompromising and power hungry. While the humble person looks to be one among many, the conceited, status-seeking person craves to be first among all.
According to the Christian faith, Jesus is quoted as saying in the Book of Mark (10:43-44), "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all."
Imagine if the leaders in the U.S., England, Israel and Iran took this message to heart. Would our world be beset by so much saber rattling?
In The Confucian Analects, it is written, "He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."
Imagine if political candidates took this message to heart and decided to campaign solely on substantive issues without resorting to mudslinging and hyperbole. Might more citizens become passionate about the political process?
According to Dhammapada 63 of Buddhism, "The fool who knows that he is a fool is for that very reason a wise man; the fool who thinks he is wise is called a fool indeed."
Imagine if more of our leaders were able to admit to mistakes and errors in judgment. Would this not encourage the general public to incorporate humility in our daily lives?
Samanasuttam 136 of the Jainian religion urges us to "subdue pride by modesty, overcome hypocrisy by simplicity, and dissolve greed by contentment."
Imagine if corporate leaders took these ideas to heart by treating their workers and customers as unique individuals, not merely as commodities to be manipulated. Would this not cause a revolution against poverty and environmental degradation?
In Hinduism, it is written in the Laws of Manu 2.162, "A brahmin should ever shrink from honor as from poison, and should always be desirous of disrespect as if of ambrosia."
Imagine if all of us took these words and the others presented to heart. Would not humility become the norm, not the exception?
Aha, now this is one of the inherent dangers in allowing any or all comments! Bruce, was there a point contained somewhere in that or do you just have fun leaving long, "rambling", diassociated comments?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post on humility and living humble. On my drive home from work i passed a car with one of my favorite sayings on the bumper: Live Simply, that others may simply live. I think politicians forget that they are public SERVANTS, and should be humble servants at that.
ReplyDeleteDidn't even bother reading all that from Bruce... i trust it says something about how Islam also expresses the virtue of humility and will leave it at that.
Hey, how have you been? I was in Africa for two weeks. I just posted on apu4prez, in case you are interested. Posted on the Global Fund... you might find it of interest.
Leadership is not about standing in the front - it is about motivating others to become more themselves than they otherwise could be.
ReplyDeleteThe front man is not the "leader" necessarily - it is important not to confuse the two. A truly charismatic leader is still a rarity, because they are indeed humble enough to allow others to take the credit for what happens and feel they can do more.
Look at where we are now, with not a clue how to grow this economy - just money sloshing around with no sense of direction. Eventually, it will find a drain, since it has no positive direction to go and is simply pooling up.
We have no current leadership in this country - just someone who pretends to be one and doesn't understand the meaning of that word, and tears down all who oppose him.
He who has to tell everyone how humble he is - is not.
ReplyDeleteJustaDog,
ReplyDeleteYour statement is true for both he AND she.