Humility anyone?

I have been reading and thinking a lot recently about how altruism and generosity are not only not common in the social sense of the word, but not something humans are born with. We are not inherently altruistic or generous, those traits and behaviours are learned (or not!!)

Aren't people generous when they give money or donate food, clothing, and toys to charities? I would say that for most it's not genuine generosity, but rather something we are conditioned to do at specific times (IE. X-mas), or when dramatic events (IE. Haiti earthquake) happen.

So what does it take for a person to be genuinely altruistic or generous?

I believe a person needs to be humble before they can be genuinely altruistic and generous.

By the way, I am aware of the irony of calling out people on their lack of humility.

By humility, I don't mean the occasional (usually on specific occasions like birthdays, anniversaries or awards presentations)outward expressions of gratitude.

Rather, I refer to the ability to accept reality; the reality that *I* am not better than others.

In an odd twist, accepting this reality leads to behaving differently than most. I say odd because my perception of "humble" people as often been that of shy and reserved people who do not "rock the boat".

Now while humble people do not "rock the boat", they also behave in much more altruisitic ways. They are the ones who will help charities throughout the year (not just in the 2nd and 3rd week of December), they will contribute to the Red Cross and other such organizations regularly not just AFTER A DISASTER.

They're not the ones you call in order to "put out a fire", they're the ones you learn from in order to avoid having a "fire" in the first place.

Regarding depression, they're the few who educate themselves, and unlike most are not afraid of mental illness.

A little humility can go a long way.

Ignorance is not humility

I saw an interview recently with a retired politician who was being asked about current political issues, specifically the environment and what could be done about it at the government level. He answered (in an un-politician way) "I don't know". One of the panelists congratulated him for his humility, saying that we too rarely hear active politicians admit ignorance.

In this sense,"ignorance" (IE. Ignoring something) and "Humility" (IE. Openly acknowledging one's ignorance) are related.

I'm referring to a more sinister use of language in which people prefer ignoring a situation, and present this ignorance as humility.

It is said over and over again about mental illness that "I haven't had it, so I don't know", when in reality the person is saying "I don't want to know".

Presenting one's ignorance about mental illness as a sign of humility makes it much more acceptable, but truth is they are choosing to remain ignorant, which is anything but humble, it's lazy.

The truly humble person (like the former politician) is one who seeks to educate themselves on what they are ignorant about.

If I ignore what diabetes is all about, how it develops, who's at risk, what it's like to live with and so on. Even admit that ignorance publicly, that doesn't make me humble, it simply makes me ignorant.

The person who educates themselves about the disease is the one showing humility.