The word “humility” has an aura of old-fashioned
obsolescence about it, perhaps accounting for the tendency of so many to
dismiss the whole notion as irrelevant—so rare a presence in contemporary times
it might as well be considered a counter culture value.
Contemporary culture has ceased questioning the
validity of appearances. Branding is big business now and we seem to have lost
sight of the fact that there is a painful price to be paid for our infatuation
with these warped images of ourselves. Preoccupation with superficial
appearances is merely a symptom of a deep sense of unworthiness and
powerlessness, which we then try to compensate for with a substitute self.
Humility is the opposite of hubris and is
characterized by a complete lack of self-consciousness—being so engaged in the
flow of life there is no room for either feelings of inferiority or exacerbated
sense of pride. We are simply being,
doing our thing. And being is freedom, as opposed to branding which is just another
form of self-conscious enslavement.
If we want to live a fulfilling, original and
intelligent way of life, we need to live with a little integrity and soul. We
need to keep it real.
