A viewer asks: “Humility is one of the core values of wisdom teachings, expounded as a most valuable quality in human character. What exactly is humility? Why is it so important?”

Humility is a recognition that there needs to be a balance within in service to the ego, which is addressing the yearning of the soul to excel, to succeed, and to prevail, and may drive a person to do so at all costs, even at the expense of others. Such excesses are avoided by those in divine alignment who know there needs to be a measured response and an overall balance in all things undertaken, including feelings within from moment to moment. So people naturally have a desire to see the betterment of others and the welfare of others play out, because it makes them feel good to see that others are happy and enjoying their lives, and having good times and benefits come their way, and that their hard work is rewarded, and so on. The ego would say the self needs to be superior and in charge and looked up to by others, and so on. Such notions are a misguided interpretation of what it means to value oneself and to be strong within and to hold one’s own when challenged. Having inner strength through self-confidence is a healthy outlet for the ego and very much in divine alignment. For a soul to be bold and innovative and part of a broad expansion of possibilities in a wider and wider role within the universe, there will be much demanded of the self to hold one’s own and bring about successful enterprises of all kinds, to act effectively and sometimes swiftly, with assurance and with a calm and steady hand developed through much life experience taking on challenges of all kinds. And learning to balance personal success and achievement in a way that does not disfavor others or harm others in the doing will allow strength of character to develop along with stronger self-regard and strength within the being physically, mentally, emotionally, and especially spiritually—if all are in balance, there will be a state of perfection. So this is the goal to strive for, and in this discussion. Just as ego can be excessive and destructive to the self and others being influenced by one’s actions, too little ego can be a problem when someone acts through humility in too great a fashion. They will undercut themselves and, in effect, surrender their power to others and then may, in fact, become a victim to the ego of others by presenting too tempting a target. So humility is fine up to a point, but exhibited to excess becomes self-destructive. It is false thinking to elevate humility to be the ultimate characteristic in expression of a being in divine alignment. In truth, there will be many soul characteristics on display that will be present in equal measure. It is possible to be both strong and humble if the humility is simply there as a way to balance things and does not reach the level of an extreme where there is true weakness on display that limits growth and achievement.