The 8th Step of Humility

Man,

There sure have been an awful lot of steps to humility. If that isn't an indication of how truly important this is so far, even if we could surmise it, it hasn't been clear clear until I look slightly ahead to see how many more days there are to the humility readings.

Today's part of The Rule states: "...that a monk does only what is endorsed by the common rule of the monastery and the example set by his superiors." (RB 7:55)

Now we've all been a part of a group in our lives. A part of some small or large collection of people often operating under set guidelines most if which we don't get a say in. I could say this for high school, college, work, and many of the groups I am affiliated with. It really can be hard sometimes to agree to a set of priciples that we didn't get a vote in. As society turns itself around it seems like more and more everyone wants to be the one who writes the rules or to control their own destiny. To hell with precedents or beliefs. It's my way ir I don't have to do this anymore. I think this poison has truly permeated the greatest swath of our young minds today and is both so limited and so full of self that people really are loosing site of the power of giving yourself to something and just being ok with things as they are.

Of course I was a crusader of change most of my high school and college years. Even with work I strove to improve things and in my current role I have many of those same tasks to perform. I think it's a natural thing to want to make a change and to leave your mark on something. That used to be the reason people had children...to continue the family name. Now it's as dumb as I think so and so should be removed because I don't like their shirt color. These menial things are really diluting our true sense of belonging and I think this one line from today really encapsulated this for me. It ties nicely into my post about giving of ones self actually but I think the examples I've given here really do help make the case more clearly.

We all have superiors. Even the boss has a boss, the CEO has a boss. We all answer to someone and submitting ourselves to that authority is both necessary and can be quite rewarding.

The other thread her is really all about compliance to that authority. Now I have a TON of issues with blind compliance as has been intimated throughout my posts. However there is a place for this in the grand scheme of things. It ought to be questioned when prudent to do so, but with the recognition that that change or change itself is inevitable. So as an Oblate Novice it seems to me that this is another area in which I have some work to do. To understand the place of things including my own within those things. This has posed several questions in my head which will have to be dealt with later this evening.

I lector tonight at the Cathedral and boy has it been awhile since I've made one of my rotations. Looking forward to that and spending the day with my beautiful wife if 2 years today!

Pax!

Nick