Following the Way
BODY/BREATH
Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and begin your belly breathing. After a few breaths begin to hum as you exhale. Continue to do this for as long as you desire. Relax and notice your body.
READ
“To be great, we have to become humble like children.” – Matthew 18:3
“Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions. But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth we speak. As long as we know that our lives will always speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.” – Henri Nouwen
“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.” – Francis of Assisi
QUESTION
What righteous, God-aligned action would you make if not for ego-driven fear of how others would react? What more could you learn if you more readily admitted what you did not know?
REFLECTION
If I’m really honest with myself, I wonder how humble I really am. I’m only slightly exaggerating. I’ve been told all my life that my mental capacities are “above average.” I excelled in grammar school and accepted the “smart” label enthusiastically. I needed it to feel loved. Now I have a son who doesn’t “love” school and who doesn’t seem to care about performing. I still care about performing. I worry that any humility I have comes from fear of failure or of losing my specialness.
I have chosen to follow the way of God, and to seek their guidance and direction through the Holy Spirit. This radical openness to God is humbling and scary. It means being conscious of my ego and arrogance, and not allowing those things to dictate the next right action. It means being counter cultural and being okay with being labeled maladaptive, angry, and maybe even less than. So I work every day on not worrying about what others think of me or being concerned with reputational impacts of following another worldly way. This is how I seek humility.
PRAYER
O Holy One, help us to remember that we are worthy of love and can live a meaningful and fulfilling life even if we are average. Help me to seek your humble and loving way.
