Humility is a delicate quality. It has been said that humility is the foundation for all of the other great virtues in life. Qualities like compassion, patience and steadfastness all benefit when they are grounded in humility. Like a blank canvas that all things spring from, it requires a high level of awareness. Like walking on the razor's edge.
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less." — unattributed
Humility can easily turn into thinking and acting as if one is less worthy than another, as well as turning into ego righteousness looking for accolades. It cannot be put on display and shown off. True humility takes birth in the heart. It takes birth when our hearts become vulnerable and tender. Contrary to the idea that this is weakness, it is in fact strength. A heart that is clear and open can hold and see more of something; a heart with conditions and attachments is less likely to handle and see with clarity.
To open the heart we must understand what stains and blocks it. Tools like Vipassana meditation, a dharana (focused concentration) using nonjudgmental observations, teaches us to notice thoughts, senses and emotions as they are. As easy as it may sound, to see in a truly unattached way can take lots of practice. We are so connected, and in most cases attached, to our perceptions. When the subject (us) is less attached to the thought and emotion, it is easier to see the bigger picture. Like stepping back from a piece of art. If we are standing two inches away from something, then take two or three giant steps back, we see a completely different picture. By observing in this way we are not missing out on anything, we are in fact seeing more.
Ram Dass, the late great Western dharma teacher, used the analogy of looking at a small framed picture of a cloud. Within the frame we see the cloud only and assume that is all of it. Our identity is with the cloud, it represents who and what we think we are. If we were to expand the frame to a larger and greater view, we would see so much more – the sun, more clouds, birds, stars and ultimately the entire sky. If there were a storm, we would also see how "this too shall pass" and that it is just another element in the sky. The sky, always present and encompassing all things, is awareness. What we see from our subjective view is not the complete view. We have to find ways to step back, to see a bigger picture, a greater awareness that includes all of life. Humility is inclusive like that.
There is a great saying from the East: "There are things you know you know, things you know you don't know and things you don't know you don't know." Humility is seeing from this point of view. It is also knowing that we will naturally move back to that "small cloud" identification, so we have to keep practicing and reminding ourselves to step back. This is the razor's edge, this is the high-level awareness needed to truly be humble. To live with a greater sense of everything and everyone requires this larger view, and acknowledging that we will mess this up. It's not about being perfect as much as it is about paying attention. The intelligence of ignorance is having a level of awareness that knows it doesn't know. If we live clearly knowing this, then we have a greater chance of remaining alert to everything.
Tim Hahn runs CrossFit Instinct with his wise wife, Molly, and is a yoga and dharma teacher in Springfield.
