In the face of all that we do not know and will never fathom, is it possible to be haughty? Perhaps that is not the right question to ask. What we likely should be wondering is which is better, humility or indifference. When there is a lot of pain, we naturally try to keep ourselves from bending over too much. However, it might be prudent to remember that any pain is a reminder that there are many who have much more of such anguish. When we sit with this realization, we might not need to get apologetic, but we ought to become more understanding. Contrary to what some might think, looking at pain even more closely, doesn’t cause increased distress. This is because, like rain washing away impurity, enhanced consideration washes away any residues of untoward conditioning. And while in the beginning, it feels like there is a lot more torment, slowly, we might come to see that we become more inclusive and more open.
Openness ushers belongingness. It completes us and lets us share everything freely and with humility. If we are haughty or perhaps too inclined to insulation, we miss out on the strength that looking with wide open eyes confers. Perhaps that is why children are so generous with their love and seem to cry and laugh so easily. They see no differences or ask for any distance. And children feel everybody’s pain, as well as joy like they were their own. One way or the other, even adults feel this innate benevolence, and try and get better.
In the light of such a train of reasoning, it might make sense to rephrase the question alluded to. In the face of our limitedness, is it possible to be anything other than completely open? Perhaps not. This is because, with openness, we allow everything in. With that happening, even though we might hurt more, we acquire the capability to expand into freedom from too much conditioning. With openness, we can move past any conditioning that is limiting and turn to relying on all that is wholesome, irrespective of where we might assume it springs from or from whom.