Find the prompt here:
A dose of something unwelcome. A little humility. Not much welcome. A little shame. Not much welcome. A little shame mixed with humility, as bad as taking foul-tasting cough syrup.
Humility. Humiliated. Humiliation. Close to shame. But humility has this nicer connotation, like it's good for people to have humility. To be humble. Are humble and humility so closely related? Does shame have a place in our lives? To be ashamed of one's action when one has caused harm, that seems useful enough. If you didn't feel that, maybe you didn't actually think you caused harm. Maybe you would do it again. But if you see you caused harm and you feel bad about it, you're less likely to do it again.
Cough syrup. It always tastes bad. Why is that? What is it made of? I am coughing a lot as I recuperate from pneumonia. I feel the sticky, mucousy webs around my lung cells, I feel them break apart as I cough up the guck, I want the guck gone. I guess I should drink more hot tea. I am sick of coughing. It's head-rattling and gross. And my nose is dripping snot like a leaky faucet. I am ready to be well.