Day 65 – One Teaching – The Humble Brag

I have always valued humility and deeply respect the genuinely humble.  Yet, I must also confess that I admire (and sometimes envy) great men and women who have achieved high levels of material success and aren’t afraid to display pride in their accomplishments.  Think Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.  There does seem to be a duality at play in these seemingly conflicting values. For me, one is intentional and conscious (humility) and the other is a little more hidden (pride).  I can’t say the latter is unconscious because I am admitting here that I am aware my admiration of the prideful exists. I sometimes feel mild shame about being prideful.

Google’s Oxford Languages defines humility as, “a modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness.”  Reading that definition actually leaves me with a feeling of disillusionment.  Humility is commonly thought to be a virtue and I’ve bought into that belief, but this definition suggests that the humble have low self-esteem.  Or, am I reading too far into it?  Maybe it is possible to have high self esteem and a low view of one’s own importance.

Considering the other side, we can look at the story of Narcissus in Greek mythology, the inspiration for narcissism.  Narcissus sat beside a pond staring at his own reflection in the water and fell in love with the image of himself.  He became so obsessed that he fell into the pond and drowned.  This myth is a warning to us and a reminder that perhaps humility truly is a virtue.  Most people would like to avoid being called a narcissist.

There is a new phenomenon that we find all over social media called the “humble brag.”  The top definition for this slang phrase on Urban Dictionary is, “when you, usually consciously, try to get away with bragging about yourself by couching it in a phony show of humility.”  I always chuckle when I hear this term and given my preference for humility, I try to avoid using the humble brag.  But if I think deeply about this, I probably avoid it because I fear judgment.

The truth is that there is greatness in each and every one of us and it is our purpose in life to find our gifts and share them with the world.  We shouldn’t have to downplay our gifts by masking ourselves in humility.  At the same time, if we are fully self-realized and recognize the oneness that exists between all of us, we can avoid falling into the pond where Narcissus drowned.

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

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