by Cynthia Lapena

Created on: April 04, 2008

Great literature teaches us the follies of hubris, which is a self pride or arrogance that often results in a character's downfall. This kind of pride has led to the tragedies of Oedipus and Agamemnon, Faustus and Hamlet.

Our lives may seem pale in comparison to the lives of literary legends and we might comfort ourselves with the fact that we are not like those characters at all. After all, one must have a certain nobility as well, right? Wrong. The only nobility one needs is the nobility of the human race. And the only hubris we need to lead us down tragic paths is the arrogance and lack of humility that will, most certainly, alienate us from others.

A woman I know quite well was too proud to seek help from richer relatives who were offering their homes, education, and job opportunities when she was a young and struggling orphan. She was too proud to accept their help and did not want to owe them anything, so she strove hard to excel in everything she did. She worked at several jobs, sold all sorts of items to make extra money, and completed a Bachelor's degree before proceeding to support herself through medical school. She carried her hubris like a huge block on her shoulder all her life, cutting off all communication with relatives. When she married and had children, she would not even speak of her relatives and her children never met their uncles, aunts and cousins. As a result, her children were deprived of a rich cultural network of relatives from whom they could have learned much.

Many people take on the mantle of pride thinking it is a good thing. Sure, it's good to be proud of accomplishments and achievements. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as it doesn't get to your head. On the other hand, to build an arrogance that makes you think you are too good to mingle with other people is exactly what will keep other people away from you. Nobody likes the feeling of being inferior and people who wear their pride like everyone else is beneath them will certainly make other people feel inferior or, at the very least, uncomfortable in their presence.

So, who needs those people? Everyone! Cliche as it may be, no man is an island. It takes great humility to accept everyone as an equal and even greater humility to treat them as equals. We need everyone around us because we can't survive in this society without interaction. Everywhere we go, we need to deal with people and if we deal with them as if they were not worthy to even kiss the dirt under our shoes, they wouldn't be happy to deal with us. Then we get bad service and rude treatment.

Swallow your pride, say please and thank you, be kind to others, and do your best at everything. Your actions will speak louder than words and there will be no need for you to wear your success like a crown. You might be surprised at how many more people will gravitate to you!

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