the Great ones

" The great do not regard themselves;

look not for godliness

... in a self-conceited man.

Eminence does not consist in

... outward show and vaunting words, ...

nor dignity in hauteur and pretension. "

- Shaykh Sa'adi Shirazi

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where do we find the great ones?

the ones who touch hearts and souls

and carry others through the terrors of this world?

look not to the corner office

nor the pulpit

look not to the capital building or the White House (especially not there)

look not to those who preen and boast

who stand in front of thousands

preaching or ranting

nor to the ones who wear the accessories of success

and gather all things to themselves

look instead to the half way house

the homeless shelter

look to the classroom

and that dank kitchen in the basement of an old church building

look at the bent body, in the veteran’s hat

at the grandmother shepherding her grandchildren

look in the places where the “least of these” are served

and look toward the quiet ones who humbly attend

with compassion and kindness

with acceptance and encouragement

with love

look for those, not with shiny gold veneers

but for those with deep souls

who reach out their hands to

the lost, the poor

the ill, the agitated

the dirty, the ragged

the addicted

the immigrant

look to those who reach out to the vulnerable ones of this world

and in doing so

touch God

for to such belong the Kingdom