Motivational Monday: Humility (or How to be Humble)

Hello, today starts what I hope will be a more structured blog.  I have been thinking about how to make my blog better for readers and I think I have come up with a solution to my problems with my blogs, Constancy and sustaining a topic.  The topics I have come up with for the rest of the year should be able to motivate you to try new things in the writing world, entrepreneurship (which includes possibly being an author of your own book), updating your social media posts and profile, and other things that will help you be a better you.

I will tell you in a later post on how and why I decided to change the theming of this blog, and I hope you bear with me as I decide rather leave this blog on the current platform or to switch to another one (WordPress or Tumblr).  I already have an account for both platforms, it is just a matter of what makes sense to me, my business, and my audience.

Now that I have gotten formalities out of the way, today’s topic is about humility or the act of being humble.

Most of my Motivational Monday’s will be on what I have heard the Sunday before in church.  I will try not to get too preachy or too much into what the scriptures say, but I am not ashamed of who I believe in, and I am not going to water it down, either.

This is my definition of humility:  to give of one’s self and to help others achieve their best self.  Now here are examples of that:

Say you are attending a PTA meeting (PTO in some places) and there is a call of action for volunteers at a bake sale.  New books are needed for the library because the ones that are there are torn and battered, and they need a little TLC. You volunteer for the bake sale and other fundraisers which are needed to put books on the shelves at your child’s library.  At the end of the school year, the president decides to recognize some hard-working parents and other family members of students, but your name is not mentioned at all.  Perhaps the president looked over you but given how many times you decide that you should run the many fundraisers that the school had, recognition was not needed.  You leave in a huff, and your friend, whose child also attends the school, ask you what the matter is.  You tell her that the PTA president did not say that she was so grateful for your efforts in running the many fundraisers for the school year, and you are not volunteering for another thing.   Is this an act of humility? This, by the way, happened to me when I was a teen, only it was not a PTA situation, but I volunteered to print off cards for members of the publicity team to hand out to people in recognition of their birthday during service.  Boy, did I get an earful from my mom, and I left out of the sanctuary in a huff because no one during service did not say, “and we want to thank Patti Logan for the printing of the cards.”  This was the humbling moment that I remember still (yes, I am still a member).

How about this:  The chairperson who runs the food pantry is looking for volunteers to help out with giving out clothes for a clothing drive or to donate clothes for those who need it.  You decide not to because you do not want to help out anyone who may be smelly, missing teeth, or should have a job lined up for them and going to work and besides that, your pink and purple dress does not belong on someone who is going to smell it up even more.  First of all, it is rude to try to figure out what a person does with the clothes and second, is this practicing humility?  Let these two examples marinate in your soul for a moment.

I have watched my mother all my life, including the times when we were in transit (Military term for waiting for your base housing).  She has taken people to go shopping, when the spouse has their car, or they have no car at all.  Tech sergeants sometimes did not make much money to afford a decent car, especially if they had a family.  I was friends with a girl a couple years younger than me, and not only they did not have decent clothes to wear, but they were being made fun of as well.  I could have done the same thing, but I did not.  Her stepfather was abusive because he did not have the money to feed her and her siblings (one who was a baby) and wife.  I think as soon as they moved, the parents were getting a divorce.  He even threatens to beat me one time for no reason.  Even when we moved to our present location, my mother has taken food to the sick, help out in our church’s food pantry, taught Sunday School and so forth, without complaining or crying about how much time she was taking time away from her own family.  We did not suffer from that humility.  Mom has never asked for payment for gas and sometimes will not take it if the person offered.  I try to do as much as I can without question too. I never ask for gas money. 

This is the art of humility.  I am not bragging about what I do, and I do not ask for recognition either.  I do not try to run things when something is already set up.  If the head of an organization ask for me to lead it, I make it a joint effort because someone may have better ideas then I do, especially if this is my first time doing it.  Sure, if someone wants to say I helped or say that I lead something, that is on them.  I will stand up and immediately sit back down.  I want the focus to be on the program or the event, not on me. 

Being humble also means excepting help when you need it.  Do not turn that person or organization down.  This is the part I have a hard time doing because I am so used to being independent, but sometimes I have to let people do their thing because there are so many people who do not and will not care for a person.  If that person sees you struggling, and they want to help, explain to them what is going on

if you trust them.  If not, except the “gift” anyway, thank them, and move on.  You may need that extra boost, pick-me-up, or that extra $10.  There are a lot of people who want to Pay it Forward.  It is their way of giving back.

There are a couple of scriptures that support on how God feels about humility, and the first one says; “Humble yourselves, then under God’s mighty hand, so he will lift you up in His own good time.  Leave all your worries with Him because He cares for you”. 1 Peter 5: 6-7.  The second one is, “When Pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2. Both verses mean you should not be so proud of yourself that you are not willing to help others.  You are given grace and God will lift up you to where you need to be in your journey.  Proverbs sums it up to say when you are humble, you will have the wisdom of doing the right thing for God and others and not for self.  There are more but I need another whole post to explain it all.  These two scriptures just spoke to me.

Takeaway:  I urge you to volunteer and help someone without saying a word.  You not only help others, but you will learn about yourself in the progress, and it does not have to be in a shelter, a food pantry, or school fundraiser.  You can volunteer by just encouraging others and give of your expertise without asking for anything in return.  That is the best part of being humble is when that return is not expected.

Have a good day, and God bless.