So on the drive in to work this morning I got to thinking.  There's not much else to do on a 25-mile commute (not that I'm bitter) except think, or sing along with the radio tape player, and I've had a few thoughts to occupy me of late, so I was, as I say, thinking.

I am an unhappy person lately, I thought.  My temper's always a hair away from snapping, I can't laugh at myself anymore, and I'm far too quick to see insult even when none is intended.  What's up with that?

Well, the miles rolled on by, and despite maneuvering through slow traffic it was a pleasant morning and a pleasant drive, and presently I said, "Aha!"  And I pointed my finger towards the ceiling in that "Aha!" gesture you have to make when you've had a revelation.  "Aha!" I said.  "It is because I lack humility!  I am puffed up with arrogance and self-importance, and that is why I can't laugh at myself anymore and am far too quick to see insult even when none is intended!"

So I said a little prayer:

"Lord," I said, "grant me humility.  Let it blossom like a flower in my soul ... like a great and glorious and beautiful flower, the most beautiful flower in the world!  Let me be the humblest person ever, more humble than anyone!  Let me ... Oh.  Whoops."

----

Yeah, that's why the shepherd was always the hardest character for me to get in Ultima: Quest of the Avatar.  (Great game, by the way.  Anyone else here ever play it?)