Humility is a Many Splendored Thing

I went to a wake last night for a long time member of The Fellowship, sober some 30 odd years. He was a pretty typical old timer. He was also 82 when he went to the Big Meeting in the Sky, so I think he felt that he had earned the right to say what he wanted to say, not always passing along his excellent message with an overly careful sense of decorum. He kicked ass and took names later, basically. Some times I cringed at his directness while secretly cheering him on. At times he said what I thought should be said but didn't have the chutzpah to say. I never thought he missed the mark with his message, only with his delivery.

This didn't endear him to everyone. Some of us think that we should be very careful with the feelings of others. Some of us think that we should be careful but not too careful. I personally remember having my ears cuffed early on with amazing clarity and perfect recall. Sometimes I need a hug and sometimes I need a finger poked in my chest.

At the wake the family had put together a montage of pictures of this man's life. I was stunned to find out that he was a three sport star at the university level. Anyone who is at all interested in sports knows that it's really hard to be a one sport star at a big high school, let alone at a university. While I realize we aren't talking about Notre Dame or USC, it was still an amazing accomplishment.

I never heard him mention this once at a meeting in the 8 years that I knew him. How many of us manage to work in how much money we make or where we live or how successful we are with the opposite sex every time we share? I'm not even sure how long he was sober. Some of us mention the number every time we talk.

The big picture can be very complex.