How I should be

I've posted this verse from the Gleanings before, but reading it again today, I was infused with a sense of how noble we all are, and how each and every one of us is endowed with the most amazing capacities. In this month of sacrifice, I was also able to view this verse in new light, for each and every line here talks about some kind of sacrifice - of self, of material property, of time, of the heart, of ego... And I love that the very last line, after it talks about all these wonderful things we should do, is a reminder that as we give to the world around us, we should hold the virtue of humility always dear to us. And so as we appreciate the nobility in us, and develop our capacities, and serve the world in every way possible, may we never forget to be "fruits upon the tree of humility."

There is much more that could be said about all the beautiful metaphors in this verse (such as "pillar of the temple of righteousness", "ornament to the countenance of truth", "lamp unto them that walk in darkness"...). But I'll leave the reader to reflect on each of these lines for himself/herself... And would of course love to hear of any particular lines that struck you?

"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility."

-- Baha'u'llah