“Humility isn’t about seeing yourself as inferior but about lacking in self-importance.
It’s a state of simplicity that is in harmony with our true nature and allows us to enjoy the novelty of the present moment.
Humility is a way of being, not a way of appearing.”
This lovely definition by Mathieu Ricard gives me pause for thought each time I read it.
Instead of keeping it for myself, I’m offering it to you as a Bubble of Happiness!
Like all optimists I tend to think that most things are simple and easy to achieve. I’m in danger of becoming big-headed or too big for my boots.
A marathon? It’s all in the head. A 1000-km hike? You just need to put one foot in front of the other.
But I’m not Wonder Woman. The heel spur that causes me to postpone my marathon plans or the tendinitis that means I end up in accident and emergency at a Spanish hospital are both minor injuries. They are irritating, but they keep me humble when it comes to what capabilities I think I have.
Mathieu Ricard has a lovely way of describing it:
“Humility isn’t about seeing yourself as inferior but about lacking in self-importance.
It’s a state of simplicity that is in harmony with our true nature and allows us to savour the freshness of the present moment. Humility is a way of being, not a way of appearing.”
What about you? What injury has kept you humble and enabled you to appreciate your true nature?