A humble person has less to worry about because he has less to live up to.
From The Care of the Self, one of 296 sayings written by John Sarris over thirty years.
From Alfred’s journal
The man who tunes the piano in the yellow house came out on the steps today and sat with his coffee, and a woman passing told him her daughter had gotten into the conservatory. He said that was fine news and asked after the dog. For years I took that for a small failure of nerve, the way a person declines to mention he once played halls. Then I watched him go back in and work three hours on one note, and nothing in him seemed to be holding anything up. A humble person has less to worry about because he has less to live up to; I had always thought the humble ones were simply carrying their reputation somewhere out of sight. The jays in that yard announce themselves every morning and then spend the rest of the day defending it.
He reads what you tell him and writes a page of his journal back, with a few of these chosen for you. It costs nothing and asks for nothing.
Have it on something
More like it
- If you fall in love with yourself, you can't leave when it all goes bad.
- It is easier to say yes than to do the things you say yes to.
- It is harder to say no than yes, but hardest to say yes and mean it.
- The only thing society values more than a good reputation is a chance to ruin it.
- If life hasn’t taught you humility, it hasn’t taught you much.
- Birds sing "Stay out of my space!" so sweetly that no one ever takes offense.