Hi,
This is Amy,
And welcome to this meditation on humility as a listening practice.
Find a comfortable position and begin breathing deeply into the belly,
Relaxing your jaw,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Becoming completely at ease in the body.
And consider the following idea,
That the true mark of humility is having the knowledge,
But no need to share it.
Let that settle into your heart and your body for a moment.
The idea that being humble is having knowledge,
But no need to share it.
There are times when sharing your knowledge is valuable and important,
And a way of sharing your gift with the world.
But consider a time or imagine a time when you might be with a crowd of people who all have the same gift as you,
And who are sharing about the way that shows up in the world.
In this scene,
Imagine yourself simply listening,
Without judgment,
To how other people present themselves.
And know that you could pipe in with a story of when you did the same,
Or when you shone your light,
Or when perhaps you were even better than the story that was just told.
And yet,
With this practice of listening,
You know in your mind that you could share,
And yet you choose not to.
And imagine that in this scenario,
Where your friends,
Your loved ones,
Your colleagues,
Whoever they might be,
Are swapping stories back and forth,
Each trying to top the other,
And you're simply listening.
Imagine what it would be like if one of them turned to you,
And with genuine curiosity,
Asked you to speak about your knowledge.
Rather than trying to outdo anyone else,
Rather than trying to shine a light on yourself,
You're being invited to speak.
And as you do so,
You do so with grace,
Humility,
A sense of joy about the skill or knowledge that you have comes bubbling up,
Not to prove that you're better than anyone else,
But simply because it's your purpose in this life to be good at this thing.
And so you speak with clarity,
With humility,
Detaching from any desire to impress others or be offered accolades.
You simply speak with joy about the thing that you're good at.
And then as the crowd wanders away and other conversations rise up,
Notice how you feel about that humility,
About being able to listen without needing to be better than.
How do you feel about speaking your truth from a place of joy rather than trying to impress?
Notice how it feels in your heart when you truly extend the gifts that you have as a method of service rather than as a spotlight waiting to be seen.
As you move through the day or as you move through the week,
Notice how humility shows up in your life.
Be proud of who you are and all that you can do,
And yet detach from the need to have others notice you,
For the most important praise is the one you shower upon yourself.
Bring your awareness back to the level of your heart.
Feel that sense of expansiveness as you embrace yourself for who you are.
And know that you can offer your gifts to the world with humble pride when you come from that place of inner peace.
