June 7

HUMILITY MONTH: DAY 7: “I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don’t mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.” ― John Ruskin

What a thing to aspire to! This is such a lovely quote and I am in mind of a few great people I have known in my life. They may not have been great by our social standards, but their humility and their heart were great. Then there are those with whom I am familiar, because their lives were current in the time in which I have been walking around on this marble. I am in mind of Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, and so on. There are actually quite a few. And those with whom I have actually spent time and known; at least casually, some quite well. Some were well known in the world around them, others not so much. But to aspire to this kind of greatness, for me, is much more valid than to look for the things the world sees as greatness. I would rather be merciful and kind than to have millions of dollars. That is hard to even write, but I know the truth of this in my heart. I would love to write a best-selling book, but would rather touch hearts and minds by doing this daily blog, because I don’t know how I would react to that kind of social pressure. And I certainly know that when I write, I am not in a state of conscious awareness, but rather channeling something that comes from another source. I think that the last sentence in this quote is the best sentence I could ever hope to live into! Especially the “endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful” part. That is probably the best testimony I could ever want for the end of my days here. My goal in this whole deal is to lose myself into the kind of person about whom this could be said. And I do not care a single bit for the greatness part of the quote. So, these things are my goals: Humility, and the recognition that I, myself do not do the work that I am here to do. Some days I am so very clear that I am like a funny-looking box of sorts that carries around the things that I do and say and write and live with. These came from a Source that is unknown to me, but I am quite often amazed and astonished at how the container is opened and the things I find inside! So my humanity and all its foibles are just window-dressing for what Creator sent to this place inside of me…what if that is true of all of us? We would very quickly stop admiring the containers and work much harder to see what they contain…no more Miss Universe b.s.! Think of how much money would quit being spent on facelifts and creams…makeup, etc.! Yikes! We would all celebrate a kind act instead of watching horrified when another person who needs attention starts shooting people! What if…???? It boggles my mind and I will never stop hoping and dreaming and working on who I can be in my container, so that the day is that much closer. I can’t stop others from looking at all the wrong things, but I sure can be a part of the revolution by preparing my heart to be kinder and by working as hard as I can to be merciful…especially the “foolishly” part…I LOVE THAT!!!