Hello, humility. Did you know you're one of my favorite words? In case you're wondering, I didn't choose you as a core word because I believe I embody you. I don't, and I know that. I truly aspire to, but aspiring and being are two different things.

You are core because I believe you are absolutely essential to our survival–to my day-to-day survival with friends, neighbors, co-workers and loved ones–but also to humanity's survival in a world where everyone thinks they have the truth, that their culture is more evolved,or that their words are divinely sanctioned. Without you, we're doomed.

We raise our voices to drown out the call to listen and change. We rev our engines, flex our muscles, snap down our credit cards, web-skim the surface of the world so we can feel good about…what? We're not even sure, because we haven't stopped long enough to think about where we're headed.

What's that? Who am I tellin'? Yes, I get that. Yes, I'll calm down. Soap boxes don't help–too much monologue, too little listening.

But it's true, isn't it? Without humility, there is no compassion. Without humility, there is no contentment. Without humility, there is no connection. Without compassion, contentment, connection…there is no life.

Once you said to me, "To be humble means to think of yourself neither more nor less than you truly are." That's what I ask. And I can ask it only for myself. I get that, too.

Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.