“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” —Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love
Welcome to the Renaissance Humans Newsletter, where I focus on sense-making and story-telling in the turbulent twenties. The Renaissance (“rebirth,” in French) spanned from the 14th to the 17th century and marked a period of cultural, artistic, and intellectual renewal in Europe. A Renaissance Human fosters curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, and character in a journey of never-ending learning. They cultivate Mind, Body, and Spirit, in service of Community, and oriented to the Transcendentals.
When I was but a wee New Meat1 in the SEAL Teams, I was arrogant.
You have to have a high opinion of yourself to raise your hand for something like Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.
Not necessarily arrogance, but a sanguine sense of confidence.
You have to look at the intensity, difficulty, and brutal attrition, then stare at yourself in the mirror and think, yeah, that looks like something I could pull off.
Over one hundred and twenty trainees started in my class.
Twenty finished.
Just ten of those twenty were originals— those who began and stayed with the same class from the beginning to end, without getting rolled back to another class for injury or performance.
It’s hard not to think you’re the cock of the walk when you finish the year-long SEAL training pipeline.
I was just twenty two years old.
On top of the world.
Most of my civilian friends were still figuring out what to do with their lives, and here I was in my dream job.
We now know from research in cognitive science the human brain is still developing deep into our 20’s, something car insurance companies figured out years ago.
The danger, then, is letting that self-confidence bubble over into cockiness.
With the benefit of age and perspective, I realized earning the SEAL Trident pin is simply the price of admission into a much longer pathway of skill acquisition, personal growth, and the seasoning of operational deployments.
I was fortunate to have experienced mentors, there to cut me down to size when I got a little too big for my britches.
Got a little ahead of my skis.
They hammered humility into my hard, stubborn, head.
I’m always on the hunt for Minimum Viable Virtues (MVV).2 The least amount of human traits which foster the conditions for a flourishing life.
I believe humility is one of those MVVs.
It is built into the major faith traditions of the world.
Christianity: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)
Islam: “Whoever has in his heart an atom’s weight of pride will not enter Paradise.”
Judaism: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8)
Confucianism: “Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.”
Hinduism: “Humility, unpretentiousness, non-violence, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the guru, purity, steadfastness, self-control…” are necessary virtues. (Bhagavad Gita, 13:8)
And many others, but I’ll stop there.
But since it does not (necessarily) require a profession of faith in a higher power, it also works for atheists, agnostics, and spiritual but not religious types just as well.
The root of the word comes from the Latin humilitas, meaning "lowness" or "meekness." This, in turn, comes from humus, meaning "ground" or "earth." The idea behind humilitas relates to being grounded or lowly, emphasizing modesty and a lack of arrogance.
One of my favorite descriptions of humility is you don’t think less of yourself, you think of yourself less.
Every time I strayed from the humble path, someone or something was there to kick me in the cojones.3
In Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) circles, I’ve often heard the expression be humble or get humbled, and I suppose that is a good general guideline for life. One of the many things I love about BJJ is humility is built into the practice. It’s actually embedded in the system.
If you have a haughty, arrogant posture, sooner or later (almost always sooner) someone is going to give you attitude adjustment, usually via a blood choke or a joint lock.
Humility doesn’t mean that you have to give up on ever coming to a conclusion about a situation or person.
It’s a perspective of curiosity, a recognition that I am simply one human, hands scrabbling along the Elephant of Reality in an imperfect, clumsy fashion.
It doesn’t mean you are a wallflower, a pushover, milquetoast sort of human.
You can be decisive and bold and still conduct yourself in a humble fashion.
Being humble means you are listening.
To others.
To your body.
To the environment.
It means Attuning to Signal, amidst the tumult of Noise.
What follows is my take on a humble approach.
I don’t always succeed in following this.
But I keep trying.
If we fail— if we fall short, we shouldn’t point fingers.
We should seek to understand other perspectives, learn from our shortcomings, and develop the skills and traits to succeed the next time.
If we succeed— if we triumph in majestic fashion, we shouldn’t gloat or brag.
We should be mindful of mistaking a lucky result for a skilled one, of overconfidence, and overreach.
Humility is a posture towards reality which sets the conditions for flourishing.
It keeps us from believing from our own bullshit on one hand, and gives us the strength to continue through adversity on the other.
Be Humble.
Currere Certamen Tuum
New Meat is a term of “endearment” for new members of the SEAL Teams.
Is humility a virtue or a value? I am arguing it’s a virtue here, but people use the terms interchangeably at times.
Mostly figuratively, sometimes literally.
Nice one Adam. In Indic philosophy the ‘non-humble’ self is often referred to as ‘ahamkar’ — literally ‘created self’. It’s a mentally constructed self that we then project in the world. When it’s dropped (or shot down or otherwise stripped away) what we’re left with is the (authentic, humble) creator self that produced the (false, egotistical) created self.
Simply superb, sir. Esquisite treatise on balancing between excesses of emotion or thought. Just the right amount of woo. A finely honed knife-edge of perception and daily practice. Thank you for the synthesis for my Sunday.