humble thyself, through gratitude.

I added the “through gratitude” part later, as I know that telling someone to humble thyself is akin to calling them an asshole.  Especially alcoholics.  Especially me.

Rumination for the day: like the title says.

Because what’s the opposite of humility?  Brash arrogance.  Jerky behavior and know-it-all attitudes.  And with all of the hullabaloo over the next ten days, it’s really easy to get caught up in the one-upmanship that can go on around various kitchen tables and seldom-occupied front rooms.

And it’s not necessarily about capital gains that brings about proclamations of superiority.  Most often, it’s about viewpoints and declarations of what is and is not important in life, according to the person speaking.  Little self pick-me-up, back-handed compliments, such as, “I wish I had time to watch television”, or “good for you, having a cat in the house.  I just couldn’t stand it: all the hair, and the cat shit, oh God, yuck.” Then they add a gagging action here, just thinking about the cat poop.  “Good for you, because I couldn’t stand it.”

So how does the television watcher feel?  The cat owner?  I’ll tell you how they feel:  like dumbasses.  Like fools who bought into the whole “It’s the golden age of television right now” and “cats are hygienic pets that add pleasure to your life” propaganda.  There can be a whole lot of judgement being thrown around this time of year, and it all has to do with how others live their lives.

This year, I understand that I’m capable of being just as full of shit as the next guy.  And for that, I’m grateful.  And humble.