Monastic rule

As seems to be the trend lately, I found myself reading another book on the monastic life. This one was unique in that it was written by a woman who lived the rule of St. Benedict for over thirty years in a monastic community. Wisdom Distilled from the Daily. My favorite thing about the Benedictine rule is the way it values the way daily living can be given a high level of sanctity. Although there is not a whole lot of practical advice about how to enact the rule in different circumstances, the definitions underlying each principle were revelatory. The description of humility, for example, includes the following:

"Humble people walk comfortably in every group. No one is either too beneath them or too above them for their own sense of well-being. They are who they are, people with as much to give as to get, and they know it. And because they' re at ease with themselves, they can afford to be open with others." [64]

Perhaps the reason that this definition in particular stands out to me is that while I am comfortable with people that I feel are beneath me (yes, if I am honest there are people who still fit into this category), I have trouble associating with those above me. I wonder if this is because I have trouble receiving rather than giving. Just when I think I may be making some progress towards humility, I find a new aspect that I have yet to begin. As is usually the case, the pattern of my current life affords plenty of opportunity for practice (somehow God always seems to work this out) as my association with law students this fall, and the community of movers and shakers that my husbandBrad Abare seems to find himself magnetic with.