The Most Important Virtue?

In Stray Reflections, Jawad Mian writes:

"A young man once left his homeland to seek Rumi. After weeks of toilsome travel, he reached the outskirts of Konya and saw a gracious presence walking toward him. The young man knew, in his heart, that this was the great teacher he longed for. He dropped to his knees.

"Then, as the young man arose, he found Rumi prostrate in the dirt.

"Astonished and embarrassed, the young man again prostrated himself. When he arose a second time, Rumi was once more prostrated before him.

"This happened over and over again until the exasperated young man finally said, “Why are you, my teacher, prostrating yourself in the dust before me, a mere seeker?” To which Rumi replied, “If I did not show you my nothingness, what would I be useful for?”

The great lessons of life seem to flow toward the same destination: an ocean where humility governs everything.

I believe this is why Jesus taught us that when we pray, we should ask for forgiveness for our sins, as well as the strength to forgive those who have hurt us - when we walk with this heart-set, we remember that humility is a sacred state that nourishes like no other.

As we go about this new day, let's remember how blessed we are to be here, and that all we really have is the present moment.

If we carry regret over something we said or did to another person, let's reach out and express how sorry we are.

Let's be sure that those we are closest to know with certainty how we feel about them.