# Humbleness
- URL: https://www.petrikajander.com/humbleness/
- Author: Petri Kajander
- Date: 2004-10-13
- Language: en
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxY8szSYN3k

Our life is full of low and high moments. In the great moments, we have a feeling of being in control and having some special qualities. In the blue moments, we feel insecure and imperfect. Usually we reflect our qualities and self-image based on the activities and outcomes around us. We draw quick conclusions and create causal relationships with the outcomes and our own contribution to the events. These evaluations are subjective and are dependent on our perception of the issues. Unfortunately, we can only observe things from our perspective and without better understanding of the actual relationships and reasons for the matter. This continuous appraisal, which can be more or less subconscious, cumulates and supports our own personal development for better or worse.

In the extreme, false, continuous interpretations of situations often lead to dramatic disappointments and incidents that restore us to the reality. We have to face the fact that we might not have been as great or clever as we have thought. Something unrespectable or unfavorable happens for us that contradicts our understanding and perception of the reality. This comes as a shock to us but not really to the people around us. We are usually the last person to realize this. Our loved ones and people dear to us may have tried to warn us in various ways, but we have not taken these indications as something of great relevance. In other words, our self-image has let us down.

We cannot escape the fact that we are bound to experience life with subjective judgment. We are imperfect and our perception of the world is not objective. Our understanding and perception of the world changes over time. We are more or less ignorant despite our best intentions. In fact, each human being is trying his or her best but because we are different, the degree and level of ignorance varies greatly among human beings. These differences create the disruption and conflicts among us. If our perception and knowledge would be totally aligned, there would not be disputes and issues between us. In other words, we all would possess exactly the same qualities and similar understanding of all the issues.

Humbleness means that we are aware we are not perfect. We admit that "we are only human"—we do make mistakes. Many of our faults are materialized even when we are not aware of them. To realize this, we must also comprehend that other people make mistakes as well. They do not intend to do so but like us, they simply are not aware of their own short-comings. They are in the process of learning about themselves. Every one of us is in a different position and situation in this learning process and we need other people and the surrounding world to get us to become aware of and realize our mistakes.

Almost without exception, we are offended when someone tries to teach us about our shortcomings. We do not like to take advice from other people. We should know our own business better than everyone else, especially when the response is not very nice or polite. We get emotional or angry and this can lead to actions and consequences we may regret later on. From another point of view, our behavior results in something that offends or is not correct from the other person's point of view. We may have not intended this but just simply cannot realize it ourselves.

Humbleness lets us live our lives and learn about our qualities without judging other people in their shortcomings. Being humble about our own behavior and actions acknowledges that we are like children who are still learning about life. We are not very knowledgeable, and there are others who can teach us more. Because we are still so inexperienced and ignorant, we are in no position to give any advice or offer opinions of other people's behavior. We have so much to do with ourselves that it would be ridiculous to advise others when we are not capable of coping with our own lives and being a perfect role model for ourself. A master is responsible for his or her teachings and, therefore, should advise only in matters in which he or she completely excels. How many of us can claim to master life?