Humility

“A writer cannot communicate hope, love or encouragement without humility”

                                                                                         -Vinita Hampton Wright

Have you met someone that you admire and was pleasantly surprised that they were not a jerk?

Last week, by chance I got to meet Fr. James Martin at the Los Angeles Religious Education Conference. I was having a great time with my daughter and friends. I was recovering from a yucky week (see blog post #3).  I stumbled upon his book signing station.  It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

I have been at the same conference several times and failed to get a book signed by him.  Now is my time I thought, but I didn’t have any of his books on me.  While in line, my daughter helped me find an appropriate item to have him sign, which was my writing journal.  

In my three minute conversation with Fr. Martin, I shared how much I loved the interview with Stephen Colbert.  They did a recent interview about Lent, and here is the interview.  Their moment of goofiness and being “trill” brought back a lot of good memories, restored me from a bad week, and motivated me to be mindful of others

He looked at me with his expressive eyes, and touched my hand and said “I know, wasn't it great!” No joke in less than a second, he started singing one of the songs with me!  I can't believe I actually laughed with him!  I shared a moment with Fr. Martin!

I quickly shared with him my dream about being a writer; he was definitely in the moment and asked St. Thomas Aquinas to pray for me!

And, he wasn't a jerk!

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Over the past year, I have been gaining insights about making mistakes. I'm fully aware and know that we are human and make mistakes. I have made my share of mistakes lately and feel absolutely horrible about them.  Without revealing details, it’s been interesting to experience someone admitting to a mistake that they have done to you. 

It goes both ways. People will not believe in you unless you have the humility to admit your mistakes, as well as accept the apologies of others when they admit mistakes, not as a gesture but wholeheartedly as a way to reconcile and move on.   

Even though I don’t know Fr. Martin, that chance meeting helped me understand the power of humility.  He may have not admitted any mistakes to me in person, but he does reveal them in his writings.  Fr. Martin is good to admit his mistakes and reveals his humility in those situations.  

He is an amazing author who has the ability to heal with his words.  Through his several books, I have been able to appreciate that I’m not alone in this world; I just need to find small ways to quiet myself and find God in all things.  Sometimes it’s easier to say than to do.

I guess the reason why I was so touched by the moment of goofiness with Fr. Martin is that I was part of the same goofiness that he shared with his friend Stephen Colbert.  He was singing with me the same song, with the same energy and delight.  He was consistently himself!

Author Vinita Hampton Wright, shares that our ego is a part of the human experience, but in order to write with truthfulness and honesty, humility is necessary for the writer.  Even though, not everyone strives to be a writer, I believe this is true whatever your profession is.