“Years ago, someone told me that humility is central to the spiritual life. That made sense to me: I was proud to think of myself as humble! But this person did not tell me that the path to humility, for some of us at least, goes through humiliation, where we are brought low, rendered powerless, stripped of pretenses and defenses, and left feeling fraudulent, empty, and useless- a humiliation that allows us to regrow our loves from the ground up, from the humus of common ground.” – Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
I cannot offer you my wisdom:
Bullets shooting
To turn ignorance into red dust.
I cannot offer you my success:
Bands marching
To the beat of my drummer.
I cannot offer you my wit:
Night club singer crooning
To make you laugh and blush.
I cannot offer you my strength:
Adonis in a mirror
To catch your hurried glance.
I can offer you my foolishness:
Drunkard stumbling
Too early in the day.
I can offer you my failure:
Left feet tripping
Too clumsy to stand.
I can offer you my stuttering:
Gears grinding
Too jagged to glide.
I can offer you my weakness:
Broken and straining
Too small to be Atlas.
Will you accept?