Inside gentleness there is great strength

Gentleness is sometimes mistakenly interpreted as weakness.

To a culture that prides itself on its show of strength, people who prefer to work in a gentle way are seen as being weak: unable to protect, defend, or fight for themselves. The prevailing wisdom in our modern American culture is that might and violence are necessary to 'save the day' and get things done.

Non-violence, to this belief system, is considered weakness, and therefore completely unable to create positive change. As a culture, we revere the winners of a contest while everyone else is considered a loser, and in so doing we lose sight of some very important facts.

It takes the greatest strength to choose to be gentle.

Gentleness, even under duress, is spiritual self control. Strength and love are the gifts of a gentle spirit. Only one who has the self awareness and knowledge to choose gentleness, has this strength. True power comes from within a conscious spirit.

A weak spirit may not be able to protect or defend itself against stronger predators, but can still choose to bully those weaker than itself. This heinous behavior is the chosen tactic of bullies everywhere. Doing this may give the bully a temporary feeling of strength, which is not to be confused with the real thing.

We’ve been operating from a false sense of power, an incomplete definition of the true nature of power.

Combine this with the lucrative business of war, and those in that business only need to exploit our fears and true weaknesses in order to get enough of us to sign on to the never ending crusades in which we find ourselves enmeshed. The more we buy into the lie, the bigger the war machine’s profits, and the worse off our own economies and lives.

This is an important distinction to consider in the early part of the 21st century on Earth. Many human beings still irrationally believe that brute force is stronger than the abilities to forgive, love, and choose gentleness.

Choosing kindness is not surrendering one’s victory through weakness.

It should be clear by now to anyone who is conscious and paying attention, that we are playing a fool’s game. There is no way to win, if we believe the lies we are told about each other. If we keep spending our resources to kill each other, we'll never feel safe.

It's going to take a lot of strength to walk away from violence as a way of life. Are you strong enough to be gentle?

“Most of us, I believe, admire strength. Sometimes, though, I wonder if we confuse strength and other words–like aggression and even violence. Real strength is neither male nor female; but is, quite simply, one of the finest characteristics that any human being can possess.” -Mr Rogers

• ©Kris Cahill
  Image from Unsplash