June 18

HUMILITY MONTH: DAY 18: “Humility is not cowardice. Meekness is not weakness. Humility and meekness are indeed spiritual powers.” — Swami Sivananda

It is not popular in our culture to seek either of these qualities. We are a culture of mass consumption and mass production and mass destruction of what we perceive stands in our way. To honor each and every person, place or thing that we encounter is not the way of Western culture. We see what is different and unique in others and condemn that with our fear; we somehow believe that whoever has the most “stuff” wins some kind of prize in life and consider that person most “successful” who has accumulated the most and biggest and shiniest. There is no room in this construct for a spiritual person to practice either humility or meekness. When I sit with someone who is at the end of their days, I have had this conversation SO many times. They are full of regret and remorse for the way they chased money and so-called security and houses and cars, etc. instead of allowing themselves to spend the ONLY currency we actually possess from birth to death…TIME!  Each moment of breath is precious and can be spent frivolously on acquiring material possessions or acquiring those things that feed the spirit. It is a struggle to please others in the world with material wealth or with the consideration and time we can share that is truly the greatest gift we have to give. A mindful conversation can change a life. An hour of my time is spent in this pursuit and I walk away changed forever. On the other hand, even when I am paid extremely well for work, that hour does not feel as fulfilling as the first. In order to walk a truly spiritual path, I must lose myself (ego) in the pursuit of serving another…in engaging with them on a deep and heart-centered level…this is part of what we do here to remain humble and meek. I can perhaps buy a meal for someone, but it is the soul-food of joining with them that truly feeds their needy spirit, which is often dying of loneliness and pain or sorrow. I know this feeling altogether too well, so I must remind myself that this is my true gift. In order to give that gift, I must ask, continuously, for those things such as greed and self-centeredness and self-interest to be removed. I must never be “too busy” to touch another person’s life in whatever way I have at my disposal with REAL thought and mindfulness. My family may love the benefits of me working myself to death in order to provide bigger, better, more and more of that; but they will truly love the benefits of my time and attention to their real needs for love and presence and actually seeing them and being with them in all ways. I cannot do both. The balance of my life is to know when enough is enough and that there is enough of the things that are required for physical comfort; and then to turn my time and attention to providing for others the gift of a hug, a shoulder, an hour of listening and sharing. These are truly what we are starving for! We buy and eat and consume things to fill the hole in our spirit that needs only love and presence…we can get these things for ourselves by knowing what the need truly is and then filling it for others when we stop chasing after things. May I humbly provide for myself today the spiritual needs of my soul and help another to have theirs met as well. May I look deeply into their eyes and let them know…I am here…you are here…I see you and honor you and love you…no matter who you are, no matter what you do…may we both find peace in this bond and this moment…that is all, it is more than enough!