The word humility comes from the same Latin root word for “humus.” That is, the word humility essentially means to be fully grounded. Humus is the earth between our fingers; our humility is our self firmly held. To be humble is to be grounded. Grounded in reality, in an honest and accepting assessment of my strengths and my weaknesses. The humble person knows himself, without any delusions, without any additions or subtractions. The humble person knows that she is strong in one area while being weak in another, and it’s all OK. The humble person yields to his vulnerability, knows that it is acceptable to be weak and to need help. The humble person yields to her strength, knows that it is acceptable to be strong and to offer that help to another person. In our humility we become real. You cannot be humble and be phony. To be humble is to be strong, chiefly because I know and accept that I have permission to be weak.
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Humility
James M. Walsh Pastoral Counseling 
2 replies on “Humility”
It took me 47 years to learn this. I finally did, and once I did I began to find it so much easier to be at ease.
Strength in weakness is nothing new, of course. St. Paul made this point strongly in his second letter to the Corinthians. Being humble is such an important part of the mindful journey, particularly the call to radical acceptance. Seeing my life with intense clarity, is essential. When I see life with that clarity I see my weakness; that clarity of vision is my strength. Clarity of vision enables me to embrace my weakness. When I embrace my weakness I invite others to embrace me, and thus I become strong. For St. Paul, the embrace of weakness becomes the embrace of Christ. For the Christian, Christ is found in every living being, if only we have the clarity of vision necessary to embrace each other.