Shades Of Humility

April 3rd, 2018


Shades Of Humility

A guest post by Aditya Srinivasan.

There is a unique dichotomy often presented to us on the different shades of humility we experience. I tend to look at them as the 'humility of awe', the 'humility of circumstance' and the 'humility of choice'.

Each of these experiences are different although in essence the destination is the same. Standing atop the mighty face of a cliff, looking at a valley below, we are filled with awe. We tend to look at ourselves and realize our tininess, our relative insignificance in the vastness of nature and the cosmos. When we are struggling to get through the week, experiencing unemployment, lack of acceptance from others, etc. we are once again humbled – suddenly all prior achievements, success come to a naught in the face of such adversity and circumstance. We again tend to look within us for answers. Even the choices we make or don't make, the action and inaction shown by us, leads us to humbling experiences where a dissonance emerges between our idea of the world and the reality that we often miss.

However, each of these experiences lead us to turn inwards, to probe within and help us confront ourselves and our imperfections in ways we couldn't have imagined before.