Being Humble

...is a virtue. And especially held in awe and esteem by the Chinese. “虚心”is the Chinese translation of being humble, but it literally refers to a "void heart". In order to be humble, you have to clear your heart of all bias, knowledge, presumption and misconceptions. This is why sometimes it is easier to learn something from scratch and not at mid-way. Without the implicit distractions that can unleash the best tamed hearts into a world of arrogance and deceit, we can all be humble at heart and learn to accept and see things the way they are. Being humble is never too easy, so it is a virtue to be attained only at great cost and effort.

Why bother filling your life up with fame and glory, when all hearts ought to be void to enjoy the best from life? Being humble allows us to empathize and understand others and things from their perspectives, alleviating ourselves of the agony or hatred that stem from despising or discriminating against certain individuals. We always feel a constant, inevitable sense of inadequacy. Nothing is ever enough, nor is anything enough to satisfy our lust for more. The perceived lack of things spurs us on to pursue better looks, smarter brains and greater wealth, all of which may prove unimportant when we recall upon our lives at twilight. I had almost forgotten how sad I was at Secondary 2 when I scored 0 for my Technical Studies.

“由简入奢易，由奢入间难”。It is hard for the rich and affluent not to be arrogant, but it is harder for them to remain happy in poverty.