Gentleness

Last week, Veteran’s Day was celebrated here in the United States. The Fruit of the Spirit that was examined in the little church I attend in my tiny swath of the Midwest was gentleness.

There is a strange sort of juxtaposition between those two ideas. Veterans are those who once served in any branch of the Armed Forces who was discharged or released under good conditions. On every eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year, they are praised for their service, their honor, and their self sacrifice. They are tough fighting men and women who no longer are active duty. Gentleness, on the other hand, is humility, a slowness to anger while having speed to forgive, and compassionate kindness towards others. It is mild-mannered and hard to attain at times. It is self-sacrificing at times, putting others’ wants and needs ahead of one’s own.

Wait a minute. Maybe the two aren’t such strange bedfellows after all.

Some would say that to be gentle means that one is easily a pushover. It is soft, not hard and unyielding. It is perceived as weak, not strong. Gentleness seems be the opposite of power or influence or toughness. And in a world where everyone wants to appreciate power and influence, where one has to win and have all of the right answers, no matter what, gentleness seems to get lost along the way.

“To be humble, to be kind / It is the giving of the peace in your mind / To a stranger, to a friend / To give in such a way that has no end / We are love, we are one / We are how we treat each other when the day is done / We are peace, we are war / We are how we treat each other and nothing more.”

~ The Alternate Routes, “Nothing More”

But yet, gentleness seems to stand out.

With a simple Land of Make-Believe and a mild-manner persona, Fred Rogers reached millions (and still does today) through an embodiment of gentleness. He worked to empower and influence his viewers to be neighbors to all and make each day special while also challenging social norms and reminding everyone they are loved just the way they are. His gentle influence is still felt today.

Rosa Parks was tired of giving in to the status quo when she refused to move from her seat in the colored section of a Montgomery bus because the white-only section was full. She had no power and no influence to speak of when she chose to defy segregation. She simply remained gentle, even when faced with jail time and later a loss of her job and death threats. Her small act of gentleness ended up bringing about the end of segregation in the United States of America. She was honored for her gentleness in the rotunda of the U. S. Capitol, where she became the first woman to lie in honor.

Princess Diana challenged the fear-inducing rhetoric of the AIDS crisis when she reached out her hand to shake that of a patient stricken with the virus. She reached out through the gentleness of touch to break down stigma and helped to show that HIV and AIDS could not be contracted through simple touch. She continued to champion awareness of the disease, reaching out to help the most vulnerable members of society. Her gentleness is still remembered in the ways her sons continue to help those who are perceived as less than.

Gentleness can be powerful. Gentleness can be tough. Gentleness can even be angry…. an anger to see the world become a better place and a determination to use power and influence to empower others by being gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

In a world where we can be anything, be gentle. For we all are how we learn to treat each other and nothing more.

Stay magical.

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