Humility Heals
Don’t let anybody tell you that your grievance is less significant than anyone else’s, for pain does not wear the same face. Your ache is not the same as mine and it’s not supposed to be. This is not a rivalry of trauma, nor do you need to justify its severity for it to be true for you. We do not need to compare struggles to validate yours since no one can place a value on your pain but you.
We are not in competition for who suffers more; there is no prize for the one walking around with the most trouble. There will always be people with predicaments far worse than yours, others will suffer less than you.
The point is to realize that every human being on the planet suffers, in big and small ways, and we can choose to help ourselves and others heal by putting our troubles in perspective.
Humility heals. Rightsizing your pain enables you to meet others in their pain, and in their healing. Loss becomes manageable, surmountable, and shareable. Humility is gained with the acknowledgment that other people have walked your walk and is expressed through your willingness to share with a fellow sufferer.
Sharing my pain is an invitation for you to share yours, and this space of mutual, vulnerable sharing is where healing is found.
We are meant to share universal pain and universal healing. This can be perceived as a small act but to me, it’s gargantuan. When we collectively direct humble yet powerful energy in the form of joining, nurturing, and honoring one another for our unique yet common experiences of pain and healing we strengthen the power of love, the power of self-trust, and the power of connection.
Be a friend to the underdog. Help the helpless. Give hope to the hopeless. If you have struggled with major loss in a particular area of life or with a particular challenge or injustice and have made your way to the light at the end of the tunnel, please consider showing others how to do it. Be quick to offer guidance when called upon, verbally or spiritually. Be a power of example to someone else.
Keep it domain specific. If you went through a divorce and are a single mother, help other divorced single mothers find new footing. If you lost a partner, support a widow through her grieving process. If you lived in a tent and now have a roof over your head, work with the homeless. If you ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner for a week straight so you could pay the electric bill, work at a food pantry. If you found yourself repeatedly with your face pressed against a cold, tile floor in between bouts of vomiting because you got drunk again when you said you wouldn’t, work with alcoholics.
A humble attitude goes a long way, and it goes further when you give back in ways that are personal to you.
Will you do your part? Will you take your place among your brothers and sisters in whichever way you feel moved to, big or small? And truly, there are no small or unimportant ways. It all matters.
Because you matter.
