Our attitude in life determines many things — how far we have travelled on the path of life, how spiritually evolved we are and how anchored and rooted we remain in spite of the many vicissitudes in life.
While a positive attitude in general is more desirable as opposed to a negative one, the word attitude is used loosely today to mean assertiveness, authority, fearlessness, devil-may-care attitude, etc. And thanks to technology at our fingertips, flaunting ourselves and wearing our attitude has become easier and more or less the norm.
The point, however, is that the right attitude, an attitude of humility, considered the mother of all virtues, will pave the way for the achievement of deeper goals and ultimate desires — true happiness, harmony and greatness. Adopting an attitude of humility is not devaluing oneself or being completely self-effacing. It is as Rick Warren pointed out, “Not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less”.
We transcend the ego as we take away the focus on I, me, myself and open up and embrace a world beyond that tightly circumscribed circle. We eventually become free, less selfish and more grateful for the many graces.
Even when slighted or insulted or provoked, it hardly bothers us. Praise, if any, is credited to God. Offering tips to cultivate an attitude of humility Mother Teresa in her book The joy in loving — A guide to daily living advises us to accept insults and injuries, pass over the mistakes of others and never to stand on anyone’s dignity.
Whether it is knowledge or physical strength or wealth, an attitude of humility makes eminent sense. In today’s world of knowledge explosion we cannot possibly claim to know about everything and often we learn some great lessons, sometimes even from little children. A know-it-all and supercilious attitude is bound to trip us up sooner than later.
Fancying oneself to have an edge over others or even a spouse or sibling, child or parent is something people tend to do at some point or another. It is helpful to remember at such times that we are unique and original creations with the core in each one of us being an infinitesimal part of the source (regardless of the external warts, flaws et al which in our scheme of things assume larger-than-life proportions).
Even comparisons based on wealth and the depth of one’s pockets are odious and meaningless because real wealth cannot be counted merely in terms of our net worth alone. No man is an island. And we are all mere custodians.
Whether we like to admit it or not many people who went before us most likely have contributed to whatever we have achieved and amassed and a pompous attitude just does not cut ice. In Rabindranath Tagore’s words, “We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility,” which is why perhaps Swami Sivananda equates humility to a spiritual power.
The writer is a Reiki channel, yoga practitioner and spiritual seeker
