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French l'humilite state of mind or attitude of a
person who looks honestly at him/herself without denying
his/her faults and tends to downplay his/her own merits or
worthiness. German bescheidenheit modesty, diffidence, discretion,
demureness, moderation Spanish humildad humility,
humbleness Latin humilitas from Latin "humbles" (lowly);
from "humus" (ground) (having eyes to the
ground)
What are people saying
about themselves when they try to be the center of
attention? Can a person be proud
and humble at the same time? Make a list of things
for which you are thankful. How many relate to your
physical comfort? How many are about relationships?
How many are spiritual? Is there a good
balance? How do you express your
appreciation of these blessings? How much do you share
with others? How can you turn
challenges and difficulties into positive
opportunities? Why is it hard to get
along with someone who is always boasting of their
accomplishments? What does this say about their
self-esteem? Would you rather follow
the leadership of someone who is humble or someone
who is arrogant? Why? "To those whom much has
been given, much is expected." Why is this true?
What is expected of you? How often do you take a
moment to reflect on the good things that are
happening in your life? Is the sharing of these
blessings more a duty or more an opportunity? Can
it be both? How can the tragedies
of life be turned around to become a time of
positive growth? Reflection Points from Living
Values Activities for Young Adults, Humility
Unit. Humility is based on
self-respect. With self-respect there is
knowledge of one's own strengths. With the balance of
self-respect and humility there is an acceptance and
appreciation of one's qualities from the
inside. Humility allows the self to grow
with dignity and integrity &endash; not needing the proof of
an external show. Humility makes arrogance
disappear. Humility allows lightness in the
face of challenges. Humility as a value &endash; at
its highest &endash; allows selflessness and dignity in
working for a better world. A person with humility listens
to and accepts others. Humility is staying stable and
maintaining power on the inside and not needing to control
others on the outside. Humility eliminates the
possessiveness that builds walls of
arrogance. Humility allows one to be great
in the hearts of others. Humility creates an open mind
and recognition of the strengths of the self and others.
Arrogance damages or destroys valuing the uniqueness of
others, and hence is a subtle violation of their fundamental
rights. The tendency to impress,
dominate or limit the freedom of others in order to prove
yourself diminishes the inner experience of worth, dignity
and peace of mind.
Imagine being able to negotiate
the challenges of the world, stable in self-respect…..
Once, long ago, there was a
humble stonecutter named Tasaku. Each morning he rose early
to go to work at the base of a mountain where he chipped
away the stone with his hammer and chisel. Every day, he was
content to carve the great blocks of stone from which
beautiful palaces and temples would be built. He was very
happy with his task and asked for nothing more. Tasaku's
good and simple outlook made the Spirit of the Mountain very
happy, and the Spirit was pleased by Tasaku's kind
nature. But one day, as Tasaku was busy
with his hammer and chisel, a great and beautiful procession
passed by. First, there came a large army of proud soldiers.
Then Tasaku saw a fine prince who was dressed in splendor
and carried aloft by many servants. There were lovely
dancers and musicians parading behind. Task watched the
magnificent stream of people with awe until they moved out
of sight. After witnessing such splendor
and the prince in all finery, Tasaku could not bring himself
to return to his humble work. He no longer wanted to spend
his life at the base of the mountain cutting stone. He
envied the prince. His heart longed for a life of wealth and
power. The Spirit of the Mountain heard the desires of his
heart and, that very night, transformed the lowly
stonecutter into a fine price. Tasaku awoke the next morning in
a beautiful palace surrounded by servants ready to do his
bidding. He wore magnificent robes of the finest silk, and
dancers moved before him while musicians played for his
enjoyment. He was overjoyed with his new
life. Each day he would stroll in his
garden, enjoying the lovely blossoms and fruit trees. One
day, he sought shelter from the heat of the sun beneath the
branches of a tree, and he noticed that the sun's searing
rays had withered some of this precious blooms. He thought
about the great power of the sun and became discontent. The
sun's power was far greater than that of a prince. Tasaku
longed to be as powerful as the sun! Once again, the Spirit of the
Mountain heard Tasaku's desires and transformed him
instantly into the sun. The feeling of such power thrilled
Tasaku. He shone so brightly and proudly in the sky that is
was not long before he scorched fields and burned crops. His
strong rays began to dry the lands and the people became
desperate for water. At long last, a large group of
clouds came over Tasaku and covered his rays completely.
Tasaku realized that the clouds were even more powerful than
the sun. Once more, he became discontent and longed to
become a great cloud. The Spirit of the Mountain heard his
wishes and transformed him into an enormous
cloud. Haughtily, Tasaku puffed himself
up and began to rain powerfully over the land. Proud of his
new strength, he sent huge storms over the fields. He
flooded fields and homes in his excitement, and finally even
temples and palaces were washed away. All was gone,
destroyed by power. All but the mountain. Tasaku was enraged by the
immovable mountain. Angry that the mountain was more
powerful than the could, he cried out, "Turn me into the
mountain!". Without hesitating, the Spirit did so and
departed, knowing that there was nothing more that he could
do to please Tasaku. So all at once, Tasaku became
the mountain. At last, he thought, he was more magnificent
than the prince, more powerful than the sun, and far
stronger than the cloud. He stood there so proudly. Finally,
he was greater than everything around him. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain
at his feet. It was the sting of a chisel! There, far below,
was a lowly stonecutter, hammering slowly but surely at his
base. While bits of stone cracked from
him, so did Tasaku's heart.
to and accept others. The
greater the acceptance of others, the more that person will be
held in high esteem, and the more that person will be
listened to. One word spoken in humility
has the significance of
a thousand words.
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