June 19--Humble Fellowship

One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.  --Virginia Woolf 

“Humility . . . places us neither above nor below other people on some imagined ladder of worth. It places us exactly where we belong, on an equal footing with our fellow beings." --from 12-Step literature

    Humility is defined as freedom from pride or arrogance. I would also suggest that it is freedom from low self-worth, as in "I'm the lowest of the low." Humility is a state of balance, taking a comfortable place among our fellow humans. It takes life experience, both screwing up and achieving goals, losing and winning, so to speak, to realize that we are simply and gloriously human. As a dear mentor, Edwene Gaines, states, "We all do things we would not want to tell our grandmother about." When we are young, everything is a big deal because we believe all of life revolves around us. It takes a variety of life experience, i.e., wisdom that comes with age, to enable us to take things in stride, being a regular human among humans. That fellowship is comforting and supports a sense of inner peace. 

    Humility is a practice, 

        Leta

From The Saturday Evening Post