How could a truly humble person think he is as good as those who are contemplative? Yes, it is true, God can make you a contemplative — through His goodness and mercy; but, in my opinion, one should always take the lowest place, for this is what the Lord told us to do [Lk. 14:10] and taught us in deed.
Prepare yourself so that God may lead you along this path if He so desires. When He doesn’t, you can practice humility, which is to consider yourself lucky to serve the servants of the Lord and praise His Majesty because He brought you among them and drew you away from the devils in hell where you deserved to be a slave of these devils.
Saint Teresa of Avila
The Way of Perfection, Chap. 17, no. 1
Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Carmelite Quotes 
This is EXACTLY how I feel. I have been rejected by 3 different Orders, and am not good enough formally to become a secular where I am apprenticed to now. So I consider, as St Teresa says, that I am extremely fortunate to be able to be among, and rub shoulders with, and in some small way by my comments on this blog, and other apps, to be “at your service” to those who did make the grade, whom I admire enormously.
Your comments here are always most welcome! You always speak from your own lived experience, which no one can deny or reject. That in itself is a precious gift.
Thank you! To have a forum where my experience is of value is incredibly important to me. That none of it was a waste of time.