Blessed Indeed are the Meek-  R F Lambert

Humility is at once acute self-consciousness and the lack of it. It is self-consciousness because the humble person realizes precisely who he is and what he is. He is extremely conscious of himself. He is aware that he is "not more" and certainly "not less". He is who he is. But this awareness is not cast in stone. It is not a perception that is frozen or rigid and unchanging. It is not like a photograph that he keeps locked away in a box; a frame that looks the same each night when he opens the box to catch a glimpse of his picture. It is more like a mirror that will show him quite clearly that he is "happy this morning" and "sad tonight". It will show him that he is "frustrated today" and "content tomorrow". It will also show him that he is older than he once was and younger than he will be. It tells him that he has aged and that he will age. It also tells him that he will die one day.

The humble man knows that he changes — his thoughts, his emotions, his dreams, his memories. But he also knows with certainty that they are his. And he takes them very seriously indeed. They matter. They make a difference. So his awareness grows as he does. And he feels the texture of the changes in himself — each day, each week. He feels it before each celebration and after every sorrow. He feels it before each hope and after every disappointment. He realizes how he changes, how much and how little.

© `Deccan Chronicle’ dated January 21, 2002. Reprinted with permission.

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