Seek humility, or it will find you

It was a warm fall day. Between meetings, I found myself walking down Michigan Avenue. It was lunch time; the sidewalks were packed with office workers, conventioneers, shoppers and even a few leftover summer tourists.

It was a great opportunity to enjoy the city and one of my favorite pastimes — people watching. I noticed there were a lot of people-watchers out that afternoon; a number of people caught my eye and returned my smile.

To be honest, I guess I was feeling rather full of myself. I mean, here I was, a small-town boy and suburban father of five, all dressed up and strolling down one of the top promenades in the world just like I belonged.

Life was great! At the end of my walk I ran into a co-worker heading to the same place I was. As we walked along together, I couldn’t help but notice she kept glancing nervously at me, her gaze always returning to my upper lip.

Finally, in my own growing discomfort, I “casually” brushed a finger under my nose, coming away with, I was embarrassed to discover, a half-inch square piece of bright, green lettuce.

Ah, yes — lunch. Evidently I’d been wearing at least part of mine as a facial fashion accessory for the last half-hour or so. And, it appeared, I’d paraded this testimony to my sloppy eating habits right down Michigan Avenue.

Suddenly, the smiles I’d encountered took on a different meaning. My feelings of comfort, confidence and pride quickly evaporated. Though momentarily chagrined, more than anything I wound up amused. Nothing had really changed. Life was still great. It was just that I was still me — small-town boy and all.

There aren’t many things in life we can count on. But one of them is that no matter how successful, famous, attractive, brilliant, wealthy or powerful we are, life will inevitably remind us that we are all vulnerable, fallible human beings.

Knowing this, it is a good idea to cultivate a bit of humility as a consistent part of our self-awareness. That doesn’t mean we can’t be aware of, and even proud of, our gifts, talents, strengths and accomplishments.

It just means we need to keep in mind our basic humanity and its often uncomfortable consequences. When we do, lettuce on the lip will leave us amused, not humiliated.