HUMBLE
I have never understood how being honored in public can be a humbling experience.
I have attended more than my fair share of dinners that honor people for making a large financial contribution to a charity or public institution. Frequently, in responding to the praise heaped upon the person during the event, the honoree notes that he “is humbled by the experience” of being honored. I have always wondered what that means.
The word “humble” as an adjective as in, “He is humble,” means “meek.” Do these fabulously wealthy individuals really want us to believe that their response to being profusely praised is “meekness”? Maybe they do, but I do not buy this for a moment.
Humble as a verb as in, “He was humbled by the experience,” means “humiliated.” I find it even less likely that these wealthy people feel humiliated by all the lavish praise.
The word humble is derived from the Latin word that means “ground.” In a sense, humble means to feel no more valuable than the ground we walk on. When the patriarch Abraham spoke to the Almighty, no doubt a very humbling experience, he commented, “I am earth and ashes.” In the presence of the Almighty, we all would feel very meek.
Interestingly, the Hebrew word for man, Adam, is derived from the Hebrew word meaning ground. According to the book of Genesis, this is because the Almighty created man out of earth, and as we all know we all return to the earth when our time is complete. The message seems to be clear: We should not think too much of ourselves. Humility is always in order.
While humility is always in order, there may be another lesson to be learned from the Hebrew word Adam. The angels are very holy creatures created by the Almighty to perform in His service. They are created holy and act in holy ways during their entire existence. They act the way they act because the Almighty did not give them any choice. They do what the Almighty created them to do and only what the Almighty created them to do.
Man’s origins are much more humble. Nevertheless, the Almighty gave us choice. We can choose to follow our earthy natures and indulge ourselves with little regard for others or for the Almighty’s wishes. Alternatively, we can choose to make the world a better place, each in our own way. When we do, we fly very high, much higher than the angels. Our humble origins and our humble destiny enhance the greatness of our achievements while we are alive.
Humility is always in order. So is striving for greatness. The Hebrew word Adam teaches us that we are capable of being humble and still strive for greatness. No doubt, this synthesis of humility and greatness is very difficult to achieve. It must still be the ultimate goal for each of us.
The word “humble” as an adjective as in, “He is humble,” means “meek.” Do these fabulously wealthy individuals really want us to believe that their response to being profusely praised is “meekness”? Maybe they do, but I do not buy this for a moment.
Humble as a verb as in, “He was humbled by the experience,” means “humiliated.” I find it even less likely that these wealthy people feel humiliated by all the lavish praise.
The word humble is derived from the Latin word that means “ground.” In a sense, humble means to feel no more valuable than the ground we walk on. When the patriarch Abraham spoke to the Almighty, no doubt a very humbling experience, he commented, “I am earth and ashes.” In the presence of the Almighty, we all would feel very meek.
Interestingly, the Hebrew word for man, Adam, is derived from the Hebrew word meaning ground. According to the book of Genesis, this is because the Almighty created man out of earth, and as we all know we all return to the earth when our time is complete. The message seems to be clear: We should not think too much of ourselves. Humility is always in order.
While humility is always in order, there may be another lesson to be learned from the Hebrew word Adam. The angels are very holy creatures created by the Almighty to perform in His service. They are created holy and act in holy ways during their entire existence. They act the way they act because the Almighty did not give them any choice. They do what the Almighty created them to do and only what the Almighty created them to do.
Man’s origins are much more humble. Nevertheless, the Almighty gave us choice. We can choose to follow our earthy natures and indulge ourselves with little regard for others or for the Almighty’s wishes. Alternatively, we can choose to make the world a better place, each in our own way. When we do, we fly very high, much higher than the angels. Our humble origins and our humble destiny enhance the greatness of our achievements while we are alive.
Humility is always in order. So is striving for greatness. The Hebrew word Adam teaches us that we are capable of being humble and still strive for greatness. No doubt, this synthesis of humility and greatness is very difficult to achieve. It must still be the ultimate goal for each of us.
posted by Paul Volosov, Ph.D. 
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