• Share ways in which you have noticed the content, questions or insights from the previous Module showing up in your lives.
    I’ve been thinking about a couple of billionaires who were being compared to one another recently in the news. Both claim to be “self-made” men with political aspirations, but I was initially led to see a clear demarcation between the two. One came from “humble” beginnings; the other did not. One received $400 million dollars from his father; the other, at the age of 7, watched his father struggle mightily with a broken leg to support his family. I asked: How could two billionaires be more different in their origins? Only one could be truly self-made–or so I thought. The more I thought about this claim, I began to switch my question: How could these two be any more alike in their self-deception. They have exactly the same origin story, and both are utterly blind to it. Whether it be money or a motivation to develop a solid work ethic (this distinction is immaterial my point), these billionaires both received everything that makes them who they are from someone else.

    There is no humble beginning to human life, we are each and all brought to life by a lavish act of giving from somewhere beyond ourselves. Humility doesn’t pertain to some level of impoverishment; humility describes those who see their riches rightly. The humble recognize the truth and know that they received their identity from someone else. The arrogant claim the impossible: to have made themselves from nothing.

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