HUMILITY and EGO

by Susan Peabody, Richmond, CA (2023)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

The ego is our sense of self—our consciousness. It is also referred to as self-awareness, or self-will. An inflated ego is too much ego. It is also called self-centeredness or egocentricity. A deflated ego is too little ego. It is also referred to as low self-esteem or a poor sense of self. People who have survived a difficult childhood usually have one or the other—or vacillate between the two.

Humility means two things. For God-conscious people it means that God is everything and we are simply his children—we are perfectly imperfect. In other words, we do not compete with God. In psychological circles humility means that we do not have an inflated or deflated ego. We are not more important than other human beings, nor are we less than. We have found that middle ground.

From humility we have both a sense of God and an appropriate sense of self. It is a gift from God. From our humility we can hear God’s voice and all the guidance we need in life.

Ego can only produce happiness. From humility, we have the opportunity to find joy, peace, and serenity, as well as our God-given creativity.

My personal journey is as follows:
 I suffered and was ashamed.
 I was blind.
 I was lost.
 I found God.
 I found my healthy ego.
 I found humility.
 I found my creativity.
 I found serenity.
 I found peace.
 I found happiness.
 I found joy.
 I found Jesus.
 From Jesus I found salvation and forgiveness.
 From all of these gifts I found strength and guidance.
 I found my life’s purpose.
 I found true love.
 I found my way.
 I found my calling in the Catholic faith.
 What new strength will I find there to benefit others?
 And then after that . . . ?

We are all part human and part divine, although many of us never find our divine part. This is sad because everything worth living for is divine. The ego happiness only lasts a short while. The gifts that come from humility are eternal.

In summary, finding humility is like finding directions to water in a desert. Attaining humility is a miracle and blessing from God. Make this your goal and everything in your life will have meaning beyond belief.

Happy Holidays

Krismasi Njema

Susan Peabody