LTV Series: Humility as a Spiritual Principle
Perception is everything. One evening, I was driving with my daughter beside me. We passed a cherry-red convertible. The lady driving the convertible was smoking. My daughter turned to me and asked: “Why do people smoke inside their cars with the windows up?” It occurred to me that no one else looks at the world the same way you do. I saw a convertible. My daughter saw a red sedan. So perception is especially important when discussing the reality of life and how we choose to live. The Living the Virtues Series on humility has been inspirational. The quote for today is: “What makes humility so desirable is the marvelous thing it does to us; it creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with God” Monica Baldwin.
If you pray or meditate, you are often looking within yourself. The cool thing about doing that is that God is within all of us. So when we focus our intent inward, we are focusing on our intimacy with God. Without humility, you are projecting everything into your life. This is especially harmful when we want things to go a certain way and they don’t. When you practice humility, you come to a place where there is an understanding that you have a limited scope of life. In that tiny view, a person with humility comprehends that there is so much more to life than just the little bubble he or she lives in.
To have humility is to let go of what you think is supposed to be happening. We really don’t know. That is why it is important to stay in the present moment. You can look at something, like a palm frond and see it for what it is. However, what you don’t see is the ability to provide us with oxygen. What you don’t see is the plant cells filling up with chloroplasts, exerting energy. What you don’t see is photosynthesis. Are you the type of person that looks at a palm frond and sees only that? Or are you a person that looks beyond the palm frond and recognizes it’s value, it’s behind-the-scenes importance?
If you think you are one of those people that look at something for face value then I challenge you to become acquainted with humility. Humility has the power to create a desire within us; desire to know more, to explore more. In doing so, we connect with our Creator. God knows that humility teaches us intimacy. Adam and Eve were so befuddled and embarrassed at their nakedness because they had not yet known humility. Pride and perception can damage your ability to be humble. Especially when we interact on a human level. Letting that happen can deter you from an intimate path with God.
It is important to note that all of us have the ability to know our Creator. Jesus even stated that looking at him was like looking at the Father [God]. We know we have the capacity for amazing things because no other animal in the planet has the depth of soul and spirituality. So why not use it? Become intimate with you soul, and there you will find peace, grace, and the love of God. I hope you challenge yourself to look inward. Thanks for reading. InJoy your day!
