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Leader Resource 2: Thoughts on UU Humility

You may wish to incorporate these thoughts into Activity 2, A Healthy UU Humility.

The Reverend Forrest Church notes that the words human, humane, humanitarian, humor, humility, humble, and humus (the organic portion of soil) are all related. These words connect humility to our very humanity and the earth on which we dwell. He writes, "From dust to dust, we live and move and have our human being. Our kinship is a mortal kinship. The mortar of mortality binds us fast to one another."

The Reverend Barbara Wells ten Hove learned about humility from her father:

To be humble, he told me, was to remain teachable. Whenever we think we know it all, real humility reminds us to stay open and willing to learn.

. . . The magic words, "I don't know," are at the essence of both awe and humility. They are also at the heart of our faith. "How?" you might ask. When we approach the universe with awe, while our first response can and will likely be "Wow!" perhaps our second response should be "I don't know!"

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Last updated on Tuesday, June 3, 2008.