On Humility


>> What is humility to you?

> Humility is the failure to construct yourself socially as higher
> than others.

It is the interior non-doing of ego storytelling with respect to dominance hierarchies, with both interior and exterior consequences. Interiorly you are free from all that crap; exteriorly you don’t annoy others and make them hostile.

>> How do you see it playing out in your own life and own experiences?

When I’m free from thinking about how much better I am than other people then I am able to experience actual delight.

>> When do you experience this for yourself most deeply?

I think the social comparison construct is easiest to defeat when singing in a choir. I mean we’re all singing together so there’s a lot of social comparison just to be able to get the right note at the right time but on the other hand it’s not like I’m superior it’s more like harmony.

>> What intrigues you about it?
> I think it’s cool that Christianity has a humility engine at its core.

Intrigue? I don’t think there’s any intrigue about it, it’s clear what it is, it’s just that it’s a bit of learning and exercise to acquire and perfect and practice it. Ongoing learning and exercise. It’s nice to see it in others partly because it’s attractive and nice to be around -- perhaps because it gives social emotional space for others -- and partly because I feel like it qualifies a person to be my role model.

 

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Modified: September 18, 2020.