Most Beautiful Word

I am happy. Probably the happiest I have ever been. What makes a person happy? Well I feel it is finding yourself and once you have self respect, know your self worth and are accomplishing a life that is eloquently written by your own dream & goal list, how does one not find happiness? There is the unknown, but what a perfect place to be. Living the life you have always dreamed of, yet having the unexpected moments bring you to a different place than what you had planned on paper or in your head. Read my blogs, but know that I typically write about issues to get feedback, relay challenges and get issues out in the open. I am a lifelong learner and enjoy debates, understanding the deeper meaning of life and am in constant growth. In order to learn, we must be open minded and come to a place of humility.

One of my university professors mentioned that "windowsill" was voted the most beautiful word in the English language. This factoid naturally stayed with me. Words have enormous power. They can make us erupt into laughter or bring tears to our eyes. They can influence, inspire, manipulate and shock. They can build and destroy. Some words have different effects on different people. One such word is humility. It is one of those words that are seldom in neutral gear. Some, like me, love the word and all it stands for. Some almost fear it and interpret it synonymously with lack of self-confidence or timidity

We often confuse humility with timidity. Humility is not clothing ourselves in an attitude of self-abasement or self-denigration. Humility is all about maintaining our pride about who we are, about our achievements, about our worth – but without arrogance – it is the antithesis of hubris, that excessive, arrogant pride which often leads to the derailment of some corporate heroes, as it does with the downfall of the tragic hero in Greek drama. It's about a quiet confidence without the need for a meretricious selling of our wares. It's about being content to let others discover the layers of our talents without having to boast about them. It's a lack of arrogance, not a lack of aggressiveness in the pursuit of achievement.

An interesting dichotomy is that, often, the higher people rise, the more they have accomplished, the higher the humility index. Those who achieve the most brag the least, and the more secure they are in themselves, the more humble they are. "True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes". (Edward Frederick Halifax). We have all come across people like that and feel admiration for them.

There are many benefits to practicing humility, to being in a state of non-pretence: it improves relationships across all levels, it reduces anxiety, it encourages more openness and paradoxically, it enhances one's self-confidence. It opens a window to a higher self. For me, it replaces "windowsill" as the most beautiful word in the English language.