Thanks, Marilyn!
All of those are very true.  People do grow more when they remain humble, because if we think we're already great, we stop doing the things that got us to that point, then there's not much further progress. 

I truly think other creatures are much smarter than we are.  I have a turtle and if he's afraid, he won't stick his neck out or even take one step.  He stays in the same place for awhile, then turns around in a very slow circle to see if all directions are safe before he does anything.  In a way that's like people, we don't do much if we're afraid, but I think we should spend more time checking out all directions before making decisions.

Happiness is like opportunities, sometimes we just don't recognize what's there until we missed it.