Comments on: Humility gets no respect.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:11:16 +0000

Lili–
I hope it does not sound like I’m suggesting humility as a cure-all. It is just a (vital) step on the road to feeling centered and well. And at it’s best it is not of the ‘head’ but of the ‘heart’.
–Will

By: Will

Will — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:30:15 +0000

Lili–
OK, you kind of lost me here. Does this post sound like I’m suggesting humility as a cure-all? I did not mean it that way. It is supposed to be just another tool to use in the quest for wellness. It’s one of the most important, but there are others.

By: Lili

Lili — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:40:43 +0000

Switching from one “hope or cure” to the other is, to me, merely another addiction. If I do A to the fullest then I will be cured. Then when it doesn’t work-either I have failed or the path was ‘wrong” and must be re-evaluated. Constant head work.

Humility-the definition changes per person. All things shift-as a person with a scientific mind-though quantum theories are widely disputed they are very interesting in terms of expression the dynamics of movement and shift.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31:22 +0000

jss–

As always, you give me needed guidance. Yes, I have always hoped that being more centered spiritually would relieve me of these recurring bouts of severe depression. So when I finally started to feel like I had some real faith for the first time in many years, it disappointed me to find that the beast keeps attacking. I understand what you say, and will work on having faith in the face of pain. Thank you for the support.

–Will

By: jss

jss — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:52:13 +0000

A word of caution if I may Will. An increased spiritual awareness, call it spiritual growth if you want, is not a guarantee of a cure to depression or any other human ailment. Is it not more of a widening of consciousness, a sense of clarity about ‘reality’? Which is not to say that it cannot have an effect on the severity of our ailments but even if it does it is not likely to happen on our timetable. Please don’t give up your ship so quickly. Spiritual growth is not a straight shot upwards. It is littered with peaks and valleys, that’s just part of real life and it cannot be avoided no matter how spiritually mature we are or want to be.
Your essays are wonderful, very thoughtful and honest and to me that is a sign of growth. Please take yourself off the hook.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:34:31 +0000

I’m glad you appreciated the essay, Margaret. Given your validation, I may put up others written for the same site, until this dry spell abates. My current slump comes right on the heels of feelings (expressed here) that my spiritual growth had gotten me permanently past such profound despair. I expected to feel down again, of course. But not this down. The fact that I found myself back here so soon calls the whole ‘faith’ thing into question. Since spirituality has been the focus of so many recent posts, I’m now left wondering where to go next with this blog. In the past (I’ve been doing this since last May) I’ve just quit posting during times of questioning. But if I stay quiet too long then when I do start to write again my already-meager audience has disappeared. It takes weeks to rebuild. So for now I’ll try to keep putting in pieces to entertain, until I regain a sense of direction. Thank you for commenting.

–Will

By: Margaret

Margaret — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:18:08 +0000

Will,
I do not see this essay as “filler” material. You wrote important words. I see humility as the opposite of arrogance and narcissism, both of which seem so dominant in our society now. But the arrogance + narcissism are false and are rooted in insecurity and denial of reality. So, yes, humility is a virtue.

I hope you are feeling better.