Feb 8 - Unfold and Become

Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; *
proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
Psalm 96:2

The eleventh step of humility is that we speak gently and without laughter, seriously and with becoming modesty, briefly and reasonably, but without raising our voices...
Benedict's Rule 7:60 (Chittister, Pg. 95)

Humility, Benedict teaches, treads tenderly upon the life around it. ... We don't have to dominate conversations or consume all the time or call all the attention to ourselves. There is room, humility knows, for all of us in life.
Chittister, Pg. 95

"Briefly and reasonably, without raising our voices" I like to talk. Sure, I value silence, but I like to talk. Most important I like to talk about my favorite subject, "Me". Over the years two different things have happened in my life experience: 1) I have more experiences from which I can generate a "story", and 2) I have slowly become aware that my stories are not the only stories to be heard. Do I have the confidence to simply let go of my "needs" and let others in front of me? What is this "humility" we keep reading and hearing about? Sister Joan speaks to me when she says "There is room, humility knows, for all of us in life", all we need to do is "simply unfold ourselves and become."

A Note To Anyone Reading:

This entry is part of a series that is developing as I read The Rule of Benedict, A Spirituality for the 21st Century, Joan Chittister, OSB, Crossroads, 2010. I am offering this both to those at St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington VA, that may be reading this book and to anyone that is interested.

Unless stated otherwise quotes from St. Benedict's Rule are from the translation in this same book.
Psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer, The Episcopal Church, 1979 unless otherwise noted.

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