I think a great man is willing to be small, and a small man insists on being great. In fact, humility is, to me, the essence of spirituality and compassion. It was Ernest Hemingway, of all people, who said there is nothing noble in being superior to others, true nobility is being superior to your former self.

Perhaps I have a chance, after all. Every time I take Fate to the Mansion, I am humbled and reminded of my own many and severe limitations.

It is the healthiest and most humbling thing to make mistakes and own them. I’ve had some good experience at that.

Fate was one of my big mistakes. I messed up her trained, and subconsciously dissed her for being useless.

With Red at my side, I stopped really looking for the work and connection that she needed. Because Red died, I stumbled into this work by taking Fate to the Mansion and seeing her extraordinary need and gift for soothing and uplifting humans.

I never imagined this could be true, but she has the potential to be an even better therapy dog than Red, as she loves people even more than he did or I do, and they love her back in kind.

I’m forming my own ideas for practicing humility:

To never tell other people what to do.

To mind my own business.

To do good every day, not as charity but as self-fulfillment.

To acknowledge and accept the worst parts of myself.

To let go of slights, insults, and injuries.

To remember that everything anyone says

to me is true, at the least, to them.

To respect myself and like what I see

when I look in the mirror.

To stand on the dignity of others, not mine.

To demand love in my life, and accept it.

To remember that everyone has their battles

and struggles, everyone has it worse than me.

To never speak poorly of my life, or covet the

life of someone else.

To never argue my beliefs, or hate anyone for thinking

differently.

The good dogs teach us something, every dog I’ve had has made me a better human being. Now, it’s Fate’s turn, and I appreciate her for teaching me the meaning of humility.

I can never learn enough about it.