This appears to be quite a lofty virtue. For those of you who have been following my project since the beginning you know that I kept humility from Ben Franklin's virtue list. I was inspired by his addition of the virtue to his list.
From Ben Franklin's autobiography: "My list of virtues contain'd at first but twelve; but a Quaker friend having kindly informed me that I was generally thought proud; that my pride show'd itself frequently in conversation; that I was not content with being in the right when discussing any point, but was overbearing, and rather insolent, of which he convinc'd me by mentioning several instances; I determined endeavouring to cure myself, if I could, of this vice or folly among the rest, and I added Humility to my list, giving an extensive meaning to the word. "
This total lack of pretension and grace afforded by modeling one's behavior on Jesus and Socrates is entirely blissful so HUMILITY made my list.
This week's "Bliss Initiatives" are color coded in purple for quick identification. They are specific things that you too can try, if you want to play along with me. However, because as Earl Nightingale says, "you become what you think about," even if you only follow along, and never take on any of the bliss initiatives, I expect some positive results. I will be exploring and encouraging HUMILITY this way:
- Study Humility - I will take my usual trip around the ether and see what inspiring things I can find about humility and I'll share what I find here. If you are playing along take your own tour and please share your insights on the Everyday Bliss Facebook page or on the blog in the comments.
- Practice being humble - I will do my best to stop comparing myself to other people. I will be courteous and respectful in all my interactions with other people.
- Loosen expectations - From Be Inspired Everyday No matter how good you are at making plans or predicting outcomes, no matter how strong your belief is that something should be a certain way, life will often produce results you did not expect or did not want. When we hold tight to expectations, we become easily frustrated, disappointed, angry and humiliated. When we take ourselves and our expectations less seriously, we can more easily handle what life hands us and move out of God’s way as we are guided on our unique life journey. I know I have a tendency to expect things to proceed exactly the way I have planned and particularly since I am on vacation I will do my best to release this often frustrating habit.
"In reality there is perhaps not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself...For even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility." - Benjamin Franklin
Next Post: Humility two year old style.
My 13 bliss virtues: joy, order, creativity, passion, whimsy, serenity, inquiry, community, romance, gratitude, moxie, humility, surprise
