humility and curiosity in support a meaningful life

 

The first is humility. Humility amounts to an understanding 

that the world is not divided into good and bad people, 

but rather it is made up of all manner of individuals, 

each broken in their own way, each caught up in the common

 human struggle and each having the capacity to do both terrible

 and beautiful things. 

If we truly comprehend and acknowledge that we are all imperfect creatures, 

we find that we become more tolerant and accepting of others’ shortcomings

 and the world appears less dissonant, 

less isolating, less threatening.

The other quality is curiosity. If we look with curiosity at people

 who do not share our values, they become interesting rather than threatening. 

As I’ve grown older I’ve learnt that the world and the people in it

 are surprisingly interesting, and that the more you look and listen,

 the more interesting they become. Cultivating a questioning mind, 

of which conversation is the chief instrument, enriches our relationship

 with the world. Having a conversation with someone I may disagree

 with is, I have come to find, a great,

 life embracing pleasure.

~ Nick Cave

with thanks to The Marginalian 

by Maria Popova