I wrong. You right. I …
have the big humility.
So, how about you?
In the movie Lilies of the Field from 1963, Homer Smith, played by Sidney Poitier is frustrated when the local families want to pitch in and help Smith build a chapel for their local Catholic community.
When is spite of Smith’s protest, the locals take over the major part of the labor, Smith goes off in a sulk.
Sitting under a tree the owner of the local diner who has befriended Smith walks over and talks.
Juan, played by Stanley Adams, says in heavily accented and paced Hispanic english:
“So… Oh, do not stop now.
OK, OK. I thought you was loco.
I was wrong. You was right.
See, I have the big humility, amigo.
How about you?”
The other day I quoted TS Eliot that:
“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless“
When I put that together I wondered just what Mr. Eliot meant.
I wondered just what Mr. Eliot meant by humility and I went to the OED for a definition of the word and none of the definitions to me really seemed to work.
Then by chance Lilies of the Field was on TV last night.
I have seen the movie 50 times.
I have seem Big Juan walk over to talk to Homer Smith 50 times.
And for the first time I really heard Juan say, “See, I have the big humility.”
I have the ability to admit and say out loud I was wrong and you was right.
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire, Is the wisdom of humility.
Humility is endless.
Humility.
The Big Humility.
I was wrong.
You was right.
So, how about you?
No Haiku For You 