Last night my brother asked what had happened to the Happiness Soup blog…..well, doing a full time and a ¾ time job has left my brain a bit addled…and a bit jaded …… which I have discovered is not conducive to creativity! I have been missing writing so I thank him, well I think so, for the kick in the you know what, and thought I would write about this is a topic which I have been thinking about for a little while now..…so here goes:
I keep hearing on interviews, the radio, TV, read in print that this or that person is a humble man, or the person himself is humbled by whatever he is doing/saying/looking at. Being humble or humbled seems to be the accolade of choice these days and the highest compliment you can pay someone.
So. I looked up the word Humble on my online dictionary and it says:
* not proud or arrogant; modest * having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, * low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; * courteously respectful * low in height, level, etc. * small in size.
Now, I hardly think that in terms of describing themselves or others as humble they mean that they are insignificant, inferior, low in rank or importance or even vertically challenged. No, they mean that the person is not proud or arrogant – he is not too big for his boots; he is down to earth, one of the guys, a regular sort of chap. And sometimes “they” even go as far as saying “you wouldn’t believe it, but deep down he is a very humble man”. Grand praise indeed!
These accolades seem to be heaped on a pretty normal, average person who has found himself in a position of power or celebrity. The fact is, that this guy probably does come from fairly humble beginnings and through damn hard work, Machiavellian intrigues or sheer luck has landed himself in the public eye. And the fact is, he probably is a really nice guy (and why shouldn’t he be) and is displaying traits of mindfulness…..Yes, that word again. He is aware (mindful) of himself, his surroundings and the people around him; and he is behaving like a reasonable and rational human being, a creative and constructive member of society and all those good things….well I certainly hope so. I am not at all sure why we should even feel that we should have to comment on his “humbleness”.
I guess as well, you might think I am being a bit sexist in only referring to he/him….and I suppose in a way I am. Why? Well because to date, I haven’t heard Helen Zille say Lindiwe Sisulu is really a humble person at heart, or heard Angela Merkel say that Hillary is, deep down, a very humble small town gal. And nor, have any of my friends said to me, (yet) “you really must meet Gill, you will like her, she is very humble”!
Don't be so humble - you are not that great. -- Golda Meir
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