The last twenty years or so, spiritual/new age authors have sent this message
to readers: "You have something broken about you and I can fix it."

Now a newer, truer message must be heard: "You are here to deliver a beautiful gift to
the world - and it's a gift that benefits everyone. Remember it, and get on with it."

AS I WROTE THESE ARTICLES, I admit that Humility gave me the most trouble. Words to describe the power of this principle do not come easily. Humility, when defined spiritually, becomes a true paradox. It means not thinking too highly of yourself: It means not thinking to little of yourself. In fact, it means not "thinking" about yourself at all, but rather simply being yourself. Hard to do; hard to describe.

From The Invisible Garment:

It's not an easy placement to have your Sun in Humility. It means that you must constantly be on the alert for both arrogant and self-defacing thoughts and actions. You must be in continual self-investigation, and yet you must not spend too much time thinking about yourself. You must ruthlessly eliminate lies and projections from your reality. In short, you must walk your talk, stay in your own reality, and never get caught in someone else's dream. Deep authentic self-knowing is the ONLY path that is right and comfortable for you. There is no room for whining, victimization, or self-importance. You must never stop checking for self-importance!

Humility is my primary principle (my natal sun was at 24º of Sagittarius.) One of the most interesting aspects of living with it in my garment is that I most often see my own lack of Humility by looking in the "collective mirror." In other words, when I see someone else doing or saying something that is either arrogant or showing lack of self-esteem, I immediately recognize my own similar patterns. It's not always a pretty mirror!

Another challenge of living with Humility is remembering that not everyone has this bone-deep drive toward self-investigation. In fact, some people NEVER self-investigate, because it's not in their nature so to do. (Some people never self-investigate out of denial, but that's another story.) Living with Humility in one's garment drives that person toward truth-telling-at-all-costs. That's not always good.

My son has Humility in his chart, too. He is one of my best mirrors. I respect this kid to the nth degree because his personal ethics are almost irreproachable. He is honestly the only kid I've ever known who made it all the way through high school without being grounded, not because my husband and I are overly tolerant parents, but rather because he never did anything wrong. He was never late for curfew. He never, to my knowledge, lied to us about anything. As he explained it to me once, "Mom, I'm an athlete. We play by the rules."

The dark mirror that he holds up to me is his desire for everyone to be as "by the rules" as he. I've heard him criticize peers for making "stupid" decisions. That attitude sometimes comes at a high social price. I'm the same way. I hold a high standard for behavior, and I don't always hold my tongue when I see people not meet their own potential. I can see that in both of us, Humility drives us to constantly strive to meet our own self expectations, and it may sometimes blind us as to why other people don't have the same drive. Our bewilderment at other peoples' lack of need to self-perfect often gets read by the outside world as judgmental or arrogant behavior.

As one develops ones "Humility chops," however, an amazing transformation occurs. As one comes to know oneself more and more authentically, one also becomes more and more compassionate toward the people in the world who cannot achieve their own goals.

Arianna Huffington serves as a contemporary role model for Humility. In her early adult years, she was a conservative, highly critical of people who could not take care of themselves. She was publicly judgmental of people's choices, and actually headed a movement to call for the resignation of President Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky scandal was revealed. Through deep and honest dialogs (reportedly with her close friend, columnist Rober Sheer) and reaching higher levels of personal maturity through her spiritual practice, her personal compassion "trumped" her conservative politics. She began to see the need for a government to care for its people. She began to call for federal and state laws that reflected her own compassionate beliefs. She ran for governor of California against Arnold Schwartzenegger, calling the campaign "the hybrid vs. The Hummer". (Huffington drives a Prius, Schwartzenegger drives a Hummer.) She dropped out of the gubernatorial race, eventually realizing that her voice could be heard more clearly through the media: she co-hosts the public radio program Left, Right & Center, and serves as editor-in-chief and primary blogger for the Internet news information center, The Huffington Post. Ms. Huffington's very public transformation from (in her words) "a former right-winger who has evolved into a compassionate and progressive populist" is inspiring, because it demonstrates how as we mature spiritually, we also reform our public persona.

For the principle of Humility to be alive in the world, it must be alive in individuals. Arianna Huffington doesn't appear to be humble (using the mundane definition of the word.) In fact, she appears to be opinionated and entitled to state her opinions loudly. That kind of vocal aggression doesn't "read" as humility. Yet, I'm suggesting that it is exactly that. As she came to truly know herself, she realized that her authentic beingness and her words were out of alignment with each other. Her courage to change her opinions, say why, and speak out for compassion are reasons to admire her.

Actor Sean Penn serves as another paradoxical example of Humility. In the early part of his acting career, while married to Madonna, he seemed anything but humble, in the traditional sense of the word. His reputation in the press (probably due to his caught-on-film beating of a photographer) was one of a violent, out-of-control, self-entitled brat. Perhaps Humility, which is his primary invisible garment thread (his sun is at 24º of Leo), drove him in his early years to push against the edges of himself to find his true identity. What was it that turned the volatile young Penn into a kind and deeply concerned social activist in the early part of the 21st Century? Perhaps it was maturity, perhaps it was fatherhood, perhaps it was a strong relationship with his present wife - or perhaps it was the energy of the principle of Humility pushing him to search more deeply for his own authenticity. Immediately after Katrina, Penn was one of the first people in the United States actually lending a hand. He went to New Orleans quietly, concerned that he might be in the way of the rescue teams. Upon discovering that there were no rescue teams, he bought a little fishing boat, and started motoring from house to house, carrying people to safety. He also often gave them money to help them through the next few difficult days. This is not the work of a self-entitled brat. This is the action of a man of Humility.

Penn and Huffington have this in common: Humility, as it has lived through them, developed a compassion for life and for people that is magnificent to observe. Because they took the time to know themselves, they speak with clear voices. Because they allowed themselves room to make errors in public, and then publicly correct them, they speak with authority and command respect.

Of course, not everyone who lives with Humility in his or her chart will be called to stand in the spotlight like Huffington and Penn. But this is the "hook" - Humility doesn't demand a spotlight. Your authenticity and mine, even though it may never be featured in the headlines, is just as important as anyone who is rich or famous. Humility doesn't demand attention. It simply demands authentic living.

Of course, "authentic living" is the challenge. How does one even know whether he or she is authentic? We live in an age of so many voices and so much information, it's hard to hear our own wisdom.

These are the questions I suggest every person of Humility pose on a daily basis:

• Am I happy?
• Do I wake up with anticipation for a new day?
• Do I go to sleep with gratitude for a day well lived?
• Have I been kind to myself and to the others I encountered today?
• Do changing circumstances determine my mood?
• Does laughter come easily and often?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no" then you need to go back to the drawing board. If you are not happy, you are not allowing Humility to live through you. If you do not wake up each morning excited about the new day, then Humility has been prevented from accessing your life. If you do not end each day with a prayer of thanks, then Humility has been blocked. If you have been unkind to yourself or your friends, family or colleagues, Humility is not speaking through you. If changing circumstances determine your fundamental mood in each moment, then Humility isn't present in each moment. And if you don't laugh a lot, Humility's voice has been silenced.

Humility is not something you do. It is something you are. It is not something you notice, for as soon as it becomes noticeable, it has ceased to be. Humility lives through you when you open the window to your heart.

Picture yourself on your knees ruthlessly pulling weeds out of your garden - the weeds that are threatening to choke your most beautiful, radiantly flowering plants. Freeze-frame that image and allow it to serve as a reminder throughout your day. That's a picture of Humility. That's you, recognizing what needs to go and what needs to stay in your life. That's you honoring what says yes to life in its full potential, over what tries to diminish life to its lowest common denominator. That's you allowing Humility to live through you.

© Connie Kaplan, 2007

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