As with other Virtues, Humility has many layers and is often misunderstood. It is one of the most difficult and powerful of the Eight, and in some ways is the hardest to discuss.

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The only Virtue not to stem directly from Truth, Love, or Courage, Humility is what creates the space for the three Principles to emerge. When we become too obsessed with ourselves, our ideas, our virtues, our goals, our even our own lives, we cannot look clearly and directly at what needs doing, at what will make things better. Humility, at its core, allows us to say, "I follow something greater than myself."

 

Many people confuse the societal virtue of modesty with the core virtue of Humility. Genuine modesty can help us get along well with others, but it has little to do with true Humility. They're easy to confuse, however: both involve the claim “I’m not the biggest thing there is.”

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Modesty usually involves making yourself small. For example, "I'm not so smart." Humility, on the other hand, comes from knowing that things outside you can be very large. "As smart as I am, I will face problems that are beyond my ability."

 

True Humility has little to do with other’s perceptions of us, or with a self-image we’re trying to display. Instead, it stems from a profound recognition of our role in this world.

 

This reality is vast. It operates on many layers we understand very little. Things we are certain of often turn out to be incorrect, and always end up changing. Futures we count on go a different way. Our ideas about who and what we are turn out to be based on profoundly wrong ideas. Our own emotions, so useful in helping us navigate life, often lead us astray, and the ways our cultures teach us to act cause needless confusion and suffering.

There are many ways to respond to this reality. Scientists seek to broaden human understanding, so that we may better navigate this mysterious realm we find ourselves in. Society seeks to build walled gardens, sheltering us from the storms outside, so that we might live and grow. Spiritual seekers plunge into the unknown that lies in each of us, clearing away the delusions and watching as clear truth emerges. Many people just try to make it through their lives, day by day. And some people become scared and lash out.

 

As Paladins, we have our own response. Our sacred duty is to make things better, always.

 

Very often the scariest opponent and the largest difficulty you will face is yourself. Your own ideas about what good is supposed to look like, your attachment to precious things or ideas, your emotional responses when your plans fail or you feel threatened. You may find some spiritual insight and become convinced of your own enlightenment, forgetting the vastness of the reality you inhabit, and end up leading others astray through your own efforts to do good. You may become angry and bitter when you see the ways the people around you cause problems, refusing to listen to you or do what seems so obvious to you. You may think that nothing you do matters, or that in your current life there are no ways to fight for good.

 

You may forget that your job is to make things better, but not necessarily to experience them being better. “What is the point of my efforts here? I try so hard, but my own life is still difficult and painful.” You can never see all of reality - you have little idea the good and the harm that spread from each and every thing you do.

 

Your job is not to understand. I am clear I will never fully understand this reality. Your job is not to control. This is a good thing - opportunities to make things better far exceed my own small vision. Your job is not to win. There have been crucial, precious battles I fought for years, and lost.

 

You may want to take care of others, but there will be times you only have the strength to take care of yourself. You cannot do as much good in this world if you are damaged and falling apart. It can take Humility to realize how very difficult some challenges are and how very unprepared you are. You have agreed to a life of constant slow and hard work to improve, and despite that, many problems will forever be beyond your abilities. It takes Humility to sit with your own pain or hurt, to recognize your own humanity, and to protect and heal yourself.

 

Fundamentally, you are here as a servant of Good. To serve well, you need the Truth to see yourself clearly. To see the wisdom and virtue, as well as the confusion and hurt, inside yourself. To build your fire as large and bright as you can, but always see it as a very small part of an incomprehensibly large pattern. And seeing the size and unknown nature of that pattern, you need the Courage to face your life. To respond to the Call, to act despite uncertainty. You must keep going through anything that you encounter, from fear and pain to joy and peace, and always strive to make things better. You need the Courage to trust that your every action matters, and the Courage to go always towards where you can give fully of yourself. And you need the Love to keep that fire burning. To know that this world is sometimes terrible, but sometimes beautiful, and it’s full of precious lives. As a Paladin, your life is no longer about you. Open your heart to the joy and suffering of each living being as if it were your own. You need the Love that pulls you above your own problems and flaws and tragedies and helps you to be a shelter for those in need, a protector to those in danger, a healer for those who are hurt, and a Light to those in darkness.

 

In the end, though, even Paladins are human. You will fail, and hurt, and lose hope.

 

In those moments, widen your gaze. You are part of a larger pattern. You will never see it all. No matter how strong you become, you could never solve all the world’s problems. And it was never your job to.

 

You cannot truly practice any of the Virtues without the core understanding: I am a part of a very large pattern. Some people try to understand the pattern, some try to shelter themselves from it or try to control it, some give up and plod along.

 

We are servants of Good. Our job is to help the pattern.