Matters of the Heart
Humility
Innocence
I hear people say: “Life has a way to make us humble.”
Don’t know about other people, but this is certainly true for me. It can be hard whenever it is happening, but i am always grateful for it later on. I seem to need that from time to time, because there is always a feeling of superiority lurking in the background.
I guess thats the curse of knowing a lot, of having been interested in a broad variety of things and studied a lot in a quest to understand life in all its facets.
But time and time again i realize that i know nothing, actually. And paradoxically, thats a good feeling.
“A true genius admits that he or she knows nothing.”
― Albert Einstein
Spiritual Humility
For me, humility is the willingness to see myself accurately.
It means to recognize that:
– I do not know everything.
– My perceptions are limited.
– I can be wrong, even when I feel certain.
– Reality is larger than my concepts about it.
– I do not have to make myself important in order to exist.
I think that spiritual humility is not about acting humble but about dropping the need to be somebody in particular, or somebody special.
But, humility is not self-belittlement. Self-belittlement is still preoccupation with the self. The ego can be just as fascinated with being worthless as with being superior.
A wise person might simply say:
“I may be wrong,” or “I do not know.”
Ultimately, humility is the freedom from the need to know.
It leaves me open to experience reality directly.
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Spiritual Innocence
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus – New Testament, Matthew 18:3
We can learn so much from young children:
– Deep Trust & Dependence: Young children naturally look to their parents for provision, safety, and guidance without trying to control everything themselves.
– Authentic Humility: Children dont have the spiritual pride, social pretence, and status-seeking behaviors that we adults develop.
– Wonder and Open Perception: A child experiences the present moment directly, with curiosity and awe, rather than viewing the world through pre-conceived filters or cynicism.
– Freedom from Grievances: Children may get upset, but they typically forgive quickly, let go of resentment, and return to joy without holding onto long-term grudges.
For me, spiritual innocence is not ignorance.
It is not childishness or carelessness.
It is the capacity to meet reality openly and fresh in every moment without immediately projecting what I already know onto it.
Innocence says:
“I will look at this freshly.”
“I can live happily with open questions.”
It is my mind, before it has hardened around its own conclusions.
A child has innocence naturally because much is still unknown to him or her.
I believe a wise person can recover innocence “after already knowing way too much”.
That is the interesting transformation, a new state of being.
In Zen Buddhism, it is called “Beginner’s Mind.”
