To begin this and the next three classes, choose a prayer to recite by heart, such as the one suggested in Section 10.
"O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action, and remembrance of Thee my companion, and the power of Thy sovereignty my succorer, and Thy habitation my home, and my dwelling-place the seat Thou hast sanctified from the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee.
Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful." (Baha'u'llah)
A few students can join you in saying opening prayers, after which you can introduce the one below for memorization. This prayer is longer than the previous two memorized by the children, but it will not be difficult or them to grasp and they should be able to commit it to memory by Lesson 12.
“Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified.” (Baha'u'llah)
Be Like the Earth - Chords HERE.
See the earth
It’s so humble
Has all God’s wealth to give
Everything we need to live
Lets us walk on it every day
But have you ever heard it say
“I am richer
Greater than you”
See the tree
It’s so humble
The more its fruits abound
It bows closer to the ground
And shares the fruit that way
But have you ever heard it say
“I am richer
Greater than you”
Be like the earth
Be like the tree
Rise to the heaven of glory
On the wings of humility
Rise to the heaven of glory
On the wings of humility
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The ideas below will help you to introduce the theme of this lesson and the quotation for memorization.
A very spiritual quality is humility. Those who are humble before God recognize the greatness of God and His creation. They know that, without His assistance and grace, none of us can achieve anything. He is the Almighty, the All-Powerful. And, just as we would never show pride before God, we remain humble before all of His creation. We remember that the earth and everyone on it were created by Him and reflect His signs and attributes. We respect nature and know in our hearts that there is always something we can learn from those around us Let us memorize the following quotation:
“O Son of Man! Humble thyself before Me, that I may graciously visit thee.”
Put to music HERE.
Humble
- Zainab works diligently on her math assignments and always does well. She is humble and never boasts about her achievements.
- The children in Yong Fu’s neighborhood are eager to learn, and he was asked to form a small class for them. Even though he has little experience and considers himself unworthy, he puts his trust in God and does his best. He approaches the task with humility.
Graciously
- Candace's family has invited a few neighbors to their home for a meal. When the guests arrive, Candace greets them warmly and graciously offers them a cool drink.
- Giovanni saw his elderly neighbor struggling to walk home with her grocery bags, so he graciously offered to carry them for her.
Humility was one of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s most notable qualities. Many people wanted to give Him great titles, but He only wanted to be called “‘Abdu’l-Bahá”, which means “Servant of the Glory”. His most ardent desire was to serve. One time some wealthy visitors made an elaborate plan for Him to wash His hands before a meal. They arranged for a specially dressed boy to carry a fancy bowl with “crystal water”, and they also had a perfumed towel waiting for Him. When the Master saw the group of friends approaching from across the lawn - with the little boy, the bowl, and the towel - He knew their purpose. He hurriedly found some water nearby, washed His hands, and dried them with a piece of cloth the gardener had. Radiantly, He turned to greet the group. And then, bestowing on His guests, the very honour that was meant for Him, He lovingly offered them the water and perfumed towel!
[At the end of the lesson, before refreshments, we had a nice bowel with water + rose water that they could wash each others hands]
- One person is blindfolded. Everyone else stands around them in a circle
- “I am very tall.” (They stand on their toes and stretch as tall as they can.)
- “I am very short.” (They squat down and make themselves as short as they can.)
- “Sometimes I am tall.” (They stretch up again.)
- “Sometimes I am short.” (They squat down again.)
- “Guess what we are now!”
1. Humble Potato Prints
Cut potatoes into thick slices. Outline and cut out the letters H-U-M-I-L-T-Y. Put a thin layer of seven paint colours on seven 7 small plates. Put one letter stamp with each plate. You'll be using the I stamp twice. Let the children stamp the word HUMILITY onto finger paint paper. They can embellish around the word painting things that remind them of humility. It's also fun to use cookie cutters and cut out other shape potato stamps as well. This can get messy so it's a good outside project. And it's helpful if there's a garden hose, or at least a bucket of water, for washing hands.
2. Humble Bracelets
Cover empty cardboard toilet paper rolls with decorative paper or fabric to make cute bracelets. First cut straight across the length of the cardboard roll. Once you’ve made that cut you can cut around the roll making individual bracelets of various widths. Older kids can do this themselves; younger kids will probably need help. Cut paper or fabric rectangles that will cover the bracelet with a small boarder around each edge. Cover the back of the fabric or paper rectangle with a thin layer of tacky glue and carefully press onto bracelet smoothing out any wrinkles. Tuck all the overlaying edges to the underside. If the bracelet has lost some of its ability to spring back into shape roll it into a smaller roll and hold in shape with a rubber band while the glue dries. For smaller wrists roll them into smaller rounds. If you’ve planned ahead you could invite the kids to bring paper or fabric they like.]
Humility - From "The Family Virtues Guide"
When you are humble, you don't consider yourself more important than other people. You are happy to serve others and think other people's needs are more important. When you are humble, you don't criticize others. You don't criticize or shame yourself either. Humility helps you to understand that life is for learning and to be aware that no matter how much you know, there is always more. It means that you don't expect to be perfect. When you make a mistake, you are willing to learn from it. When you need help, you are not too proud to ask for it.
Humility is doing your best without attracting too much attention to yourself. It is giving what you have to give, not to impress others but just for the sake of giving.
Why Practice Humility?
Humility is important because it keeps you focused on your own growth, rather than the faults of others. If you worry about impressing others, they will start to tell you what they want you to be and you will lose part of yourself.
Humility helps you learn from mistakes instead of being ashamed of them. Humility helps you to treat others as equals, different yet equal. Humility helps you learn from others.
It keeps you free from prejudice and from judging others.
How Do You Practice It?
To practice humility, don't pay a lot of attention to what others say about you, good or bad. Don't waste your energy trying to impress others. Just be yourself, and do your best.
Humility helps you to realize everyone is a human being - each one different, but still a person. You don't waste time trying to figure out who is more important, comparing yourself to others. Instead of competing, you strive to perfect your own gifts. When you do wonderful things, humility reminds you to be thankful instead of boastful.
When you are humble, you aren't afraid to ask for help when you need it. Everyone needs help sometimes.
When you are humble, you don't worry over your mistakes. Instead you are eager to learn from them. You pay attention to what you have to learn rather than what you have already done. You keep on growing all of your life. You don't ever act as if you are finished.
What would humility look like if...
- You notice that you can run much faster than your friend?
- You notice that your friend usually gets better marks in school than you do?
- You make a big mistake and also hurt someone's feelings?
- Your brother or sister does a chore and you think they should have done a better job?
- What is one of the "best" mistakes you ever made - one that taught you the most?
Signs of success
Congratulations! You are practising humility when you...
| Keep trying! You need more practice when you...
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I am humble. I learn from my mistakes. I do not judge others or myself. I value my ability to keep growing.