In the grand scheme of things, we are nothing. Yet we are here, we were granted life, the most sacred and mysterious of all that exists, the spark that animates all things and choreographs the creation.
We are to the creation what a cell is to the body, we have a part to play, the body can survive without us, but we can create goodness or illness, we can help or impede the harmony of the whole.
Humility requires us to understand both that we are but a grain of dust in a vast universe, and, that we have a vital part to play. It is a freeing, faithful acceptance of who we are, in our magic and imperfection, in our limitations and might.
With that knowing that we’re neither more nor less than another, we can advance light-heartedly and creatively on our path, extend kindness and make the world a little bit better just by pulling our weight.
Our inner world is not readily available for the touring, yet if we want to grow into our power, we need to accept who we are, make a conscious effort to live our life in accordance to our nature, and know, in our heart, that of our self, we can't achieve much as separate to the whole.
Out of this acceptance emerges a quiet strength, that harmonises a flow much larger than we'll ever be.
A heart full of dreams can carry us across the world and through hardship, towards adventure and away from complacency.
But announcements, boastful wishes and success forecasting bring undue pressure, expecting attention and many a constraint that clip our wings.
Promises hold a claim that we know the future, that we have the means, proven methods, that this is our priority. Then in the action, we find ourselves liars.
In the earnestness of just trying, we get to stumble and be creative until we make it through, the action counts more than the show.
With all the reckoning of how others think, how things could go, whether we can be heard, we tend to complicate things for ourselves.
Whether we seek to protect egos, look good, pre-empt problems or mark our territory, our attempt at manipulating perception is dishonest and nowhere near as effective as we’d like.
Saying out loud, calmly, how we see things, who we are, and where we want to go is the condition to be seen, heard and accepted for who we are, and from there, grow and thrive.
The great constructs are not going to do themselves anymore than the chores.
We could waste our time trying to avoid the work, delegating the menial parts or the risky ones, negotiating for assignments at the centre where the sweat is visible and the applaud easy… or we can attend to what needs attending with a ‘getting it done’ attitude.
What follows then is visible progress, team mates given a reason not to whine, and a shared feeling that finally, something is working.
From where we stand, the picture we see tells one story. We fill in the blanks, the hidden part, the back of the front, the underneath… And in the voids, we pour our story, what we know, believe and retain of our experience… and a dose of imagination.
When we paint this picture to someone else, and we own our fillings candidly, we allow their angle to rectify our view, we get closer to the truth.
When our true value is clear and accepted, the need for external validation and the false fear that we don't measure up to others disappear.
We can then advance though life without fear, knowing our strength, seizing opportunities and recognising bogey men from actual obstacles.
Control and terror rule more spectacularly than exemplarity. In the short run, they trace clear lines of loyalty and order, but they are transactional - obedience for (relative) safety.
Humble leadership elicits adherence, free allegiance, willing contribution, co-creation of a working system. As a governing method, embracing the strength of collaboration over domination is brave but infinitely more productive, durable and rewarding.
Integrity
Modesty
Authenticity
Humbleness