Humility is a divine characteristic without any hard edges. It can be molded into any shape, fit into any situation, and be transformed into any characteristic needed. The possessor of it accepts life as it unfolds, without resistance. If a situation calls for action, then action will be the response, but only after acceptance.
Acceptance is a way of life. The mountain and the valley are the same to those with humility. They are not concerned with issues such as high or low. They are open to whatever life offers them or takes away from them.
Humility can disarm antagonism, and can humiliate bravado. When St. Francis first appeared in front of the Pope at the Vatican, the Pope said “Your poverty puts me to shame.” But poverty was only the outward appearance of St. Francis’ humility.
Just imagine Michelangelo sculpting his famous statue of David. Michelangelo said he saw the statue’s finished form within the marble. With his knife, all he had to do was remove the extraneous marble. Because of its humility, the marble yielded to Michelangelo’s knife to become the masterpiece that the world knows today.
But what if the marble had its own ideas? What if it wanted to be sitting down instead of standing up? What if it wanted to be clothed instead of naked? By yielding to the wishes of a master sculptor, a masterpiece was created.
And we too are being shaped by a master sculptor. Like David, the perfection is already inherent in us. But can we cultivate the humility to be shaped into the conscious form for which we are intended?
We need to be willing to be small. On the spiritual path, spiritual masters such as Hafiz and Meher Baba reveal that there is a veil that separates each one of us from seeing God face to face. The strong willed might think they can just rip the veil apart. But this is a veil that doesn’t yield to brute force. All the missiles and bombs of the United States military force couldn’t break through this veil. The only way to get to the other side of the veil is to be so small that you can go through it. .
This humility of the spiritual path eventually comes to everyone. Some intuitively develop this humility, sensing the need for it. Other’s, however, are initiated into humility by humiliation and disgrace. It’s as if they are dragged to God kicking and screaming.
Humility is intimately connected to living in the present moment. How is it possible to let go of the past, and be open to whatever unfolds in the present moment without humility? This is the way to consciousness. This is the way of reality unfolding in the heart of a spiritual aspirant. The same way as the earth yielding to the farmer’s plow so that seeds can be planted.
Look at nature. The trees bending to the wind, the flowers surrendering their petals, the birds flying their migratory journeys each year, snakes shedding their skins, water seeking the lowest level. No resistance, no vanity, no clinging to the past. Just willingness and acceptance.
The secret of this path is the willingness to let go of what we are so that the divine can unfold to show us what we are meant to be. Humility is the path to oneness. Not by aloofness and pride and separateness can we become one with the consciousness of all life. We reach that goal by a willingness to be shaped into whatever shape God has in store for us, so that we can ultimately, just like David, become a masterpiece.
