08/16/2025
The Quiet Strength: A Reflection on Pride and Humility
Pride wears two faces...
In seasons of ease, it speaks with a velvet tongue: “You did this. You deserve even more.” But when hardship arrives, its voice turns sharp: “You’ve failed. And everyone sees it.”
Whether in triumph or trial, pride keeps the gaze fixed inward. Inflating the self in success, Crushing it in struggle. It binds our worth to performance, And veils the truth of who we are.
Humility walks a different path. It is not weakness, nor self-denial. It is the quiet courage to admit: We are not self-sustaining. And in that admission, We are set free from the endless need to prove we are “enough.”
When we stop auditioning for significance, We begin to see others with clarity. We serve without agenda. We listen before we speak. We learn without shame. We lead without craving applause.
Only then do we understand why the highest traditions Hold humility in such sacred regard.
Freemasonry, for instance, waits until its final lectures To reveal a profound truth: That the highest office and the humblest seat Meet upon the same Level. And that every working tool, plumb, level, square, Fails in the hands of one ruled by pride.
So when achievement tempts you to rise above your Brothers, Or failure tempts you to fall beneath them, Remember the middle path.
Choose the quiet strength. Let humility do its steady work. And you will find the plumb line straight, The level balanced, And the square true.
