A humble man isn’t lowly; he just lives close to the earth. He bows and scrapes to no other man; he simply pulls himself down from the heights of pride and pretension and lives a life free of arrogance. A humble man is rooted in modesty. A humble man assumes nothing. When the spotlight shines on him, he quietly steps aside. When credit is tossed in his direction, he passes it to his teammates, his employees, his co-workers, his God. When he is asked to say a few words, he says a very few. When others call him a hero, he simply states that he’s a human being, doing what humans do. If singled out for salvos, he shrugs and says Hey, just doing my job. No matter how well others may think of him, he prefers to think well of others. When a man tells you just how humble he is, it’s safe to assume that he’s not.
Excerpted from my out-of-print book, What There is To Love About A Man (Sourcebooks, 1999). New copies are no longer available, but used and imperfect (remainders) can be had for cheap on www.bn.com and other places as well. Or, just keep visiting this blog and you’ll eventually read most (if not all) of the pages right here! Click here to read my other writings honoring and celebrating masculine qualities of body, mind and spirit.
words divinely wrought 