IMHO

Most of us are familiar with the children’s classic, “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White. We’re familiar with our favorite county fair pig, Wilber and his unlikely relationship with a spider named Charlotte.

As the story unfolds, the reality of a country fair pig’s fate becomes clear: he will be slaughtered. Upsetting as this is, Charlotte works out a P.R. campaign to save Wilbur. She starts creating a series of message cobwebs which declare how wonderful this pig is and how it would, therefore, be a grave mistake to kill him. It, inevitably, becomes a tourist attraction, thus securing Wilbur’s safety. With messages like, “Some Pig,” “Terrific,” and “Radiant,” interested was, indeed, generated.

And one of those messages was that of “Humble.”

We hear a lot about the importance of humility. All of that “pride goeth before a fall” stuff permeates our culture and our daily lives. We are repeatedly told to be humble, to stay humble.

Let’s look at that a little. What does humble mean?

It’s not the same as destructively tearing ourselves down. It’s not about poor self-esteem. Rather, it’s about a more realistic and accurate assessment of who we are and what our place is in the world. It starts by learning and accepting that yes, we are fallible, but still valuable.

Like Wilbur, many of us do not know just how intrinsically important we are; we, often, have not been taught that truth. We live in constant insecurity; we may even feel like, on some level, our lives are threatened. We underestimate the power of opinion, ours or anyone’s else’s. We possess faulty thinking and belief systems, many times, causing us harm in the process.

And, of course, we certainly don’t want to traipse over to the extreme opposite, being so insufferable and arrogant, puffing our chests and our inferiority complexes out for everyone to see.

Like the whole cliché of life, the more doable solution appears to be somewhere, in the middle, in the moderation.

Cue, therefore, a well-worn phrase we hear and speak frequently, “In My Humble Opinion.”

Wilbur, being called “humble,” was being acknowledged and complimented for an admirable trait. He didn’t call himself that. He had no idea of Charlotte’s web-spinning until after the fact.

Still, whether you and I are acknowledged or not, we have the responsibility to do realistic self-checks, all on our own. Personal inventory.

How out of control are our egos?

We need to recognize that each one of us has an opinion, but opinion does not always, necessarily, equal fact. It’s a perspective. It can be supported by facts and truths, but it is still a perspective, seen through our lens. There needs to be a cautious awe and humility at that.

In my humble opinion, anyway.

Copyright © 2020 by Sheryle Cruse