Women's clothes?

[MTL]

The thing I hate about humility is it means "a modest or low view of ones own importance". All too often pushing that humility is a great virtue is a disguise for belittling someone's self worth to unhealthy levels. My parents raised me to have so much humility that even after over a year I think that I haven't associated with them or anyone else toxic from my past, if someone is hurting me I struggle asking them to stop or even having the "audacity" to complain about it. Humility is not always a good thing. Having a low view of your own importance can be extremely harmful. Pride means "a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from ones own achievements". Pride is not always a bad thing being satisfied with yourself, your achievements, and your life can be very healthy.

So no, humility isn't always good. It's all about balance. People should think highly enough of their own worth that they love themselves and never let others use them as a doormat, and they shouldn't think so highly of themselves that they allow themselves to impede someone else's path to happiness.

Pride leads to privilege, prejudice, and entitlement, none of which are positive.

Humility allows for learning and sincerity, both of which are needed for learning and peaceful advancement of civilization.

Peace

Faith in selfless Unity for Good.

More hamfisted thinking. 

It's always got to be black or white, doesn't it?

Pride = BAD

Humility = GOOD.

again, I call bullshit.

I already said that there is legitimate Pride, and toxic Pride,
but I guess I'll spell it out:

Legitimate Pride:

Holding your head up, having self-respect, being proud of your kids,
your accomplishments, your country, your heritage.

Toxic Pride:

Being too proud to ask-for, or to accept help, when you need it,
and suffering as a result,
and perhaps making those you love, suffer with you;
or, being too proud to admit your mistakes or apologize.

Well, the same applies to Humility:

Toxic Humility:

(As with 'modesty') anytime Humility gets confused with SHAME, it becomes toxic.
When Humility becomes Humiliation.  When it becomes Fear or Self-Doubt.

"Healthy" Humility:

The opposite of Egotism, Entitlement, and Elitism.
Being able to laugh at yourself.
Taking accountability for your mistakes.
Getting your hands dirty to help someone else.
Knowing that you will have to work hard for what it is you want, in life.

You know, this reminds me of a comment I once made on the "Seven Deadly Sins" in the Catholic Church.

---

In no particular order:

Greed
Gluttony
Slothfulness
Lust
Pride
Envy
Wrath

Four things I would point out about the flaws of this list:


1.  In many cases, these "sins" are not sins at all.

Rather, they are symptoms of something deeper that is wrong with the person.

For example, when someone "commits the sin" of "Gluttony", like a 600 lb man who eats 12 cheeseburgers a day,
it is usually motivated by deeper cause,
like a fear or loneliness or inadequacy.
The "gluttony" didn't just occur in a vacuum.  It is a symptom.
And it shouldn't be shamed or punished.
It should be addressed and treated.

Same applies to Slothfulness:  An extremely slothful person might be depressed, or driven by a fear of something.

You get the idea.


2.  It is mostly filled with redundancies.

These "sins" are not even reduced to their lowest common denominators.
Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Pride...usually have a deeper root cause.

Most human behaviors are ultimately driven by either LUST or FEAR.

LUST:  The appetites that drives us forward...not just lust for sex, but lust for life, for food, for prosperity, for fun.

FEAR:  That which acts as a check for Lust....Fear pulls us back, keeps us safe, makes us think twice.

Which brings me to #3...


3.  FEAR is not on the list, and it should be (IF you are a God-fearing individual):

Why isn't FEAR on the list of Deadly Sins?

In the Bible, nothing is underscored more than the importance of FAITH.

Yet, if you truly have Faith in God...then you have nothing to FEAR.

FEAR indicates lack of FAITH.

So why didn't it make the list of Deadly Sins?

It should be #1 on the list.

(Of course, we know perfectly well why...it's because the Church uses FEAR, themselves,
to control the flock.  Fear of hell.  Fear of shaming.  Fear of being ostracized.

For the Church to fail to put FEAR on the list of Deadly Sins
is hypocritical, transparently corrupt and self-serving of the Church...IMO).


4.  By having a list of fundamental "sins"
...that are actually just human nature...
the Church misleads people:

Having eliminated most of that list as redundancies,
(and having added FEAR to a list that is missing it)

I am left with only two "sins":

LUST and FEAR.

And, IMO, these are NOT "sins", in and of themselves, AT ALL.

Rather, I see them as gifts.  They are part of the balance of nature, as I already described:

LUST is the array of appetites that drives us forward.

FEAR is the brakes on the car, as it were.  Chastises us, keeps us prudent.


So,


I posit that instead of regarding "LUST" as "BAD", full stop,

We begin to see that it is only when these two get OUT OF BALANCE that there is a problem;

when LUST is out of control, you are an addict or a compulsive, taking absurd degrees of risk;

When FEAR is out of control, you are a phobic, held back from living to some degree,
by your unhealthy degree of fear.

And, most ironically,

it is ONLY THEN that the other "sins" on the list make an appearance:

Greed, Gluttony, Slothfulness, etc etc.

---

My point:

In Christianity (and most religious dogma),

many human characteristics are wrongly designated as "sinful",
and being simply "bad" or "good".

Rather, we should see that EACH of those characteristics has the POTENTIAL to be either bad, or good.