Violent emotions are not sustainable long-term sources of
energy for the struggle. True gentleness is not an absence of anger, but a
transformation of anger from the impulse to harm into an unconquerable will to
protect and endure.
Gentleness is not the willingness to ignore abuse, but a
powerful balance that prevents us from being involuntarily triggered and drawn
off course. Gentleness is anger brought completely in harness to our highest
values. When we are truly gentle, our power cannot be triggered by fate, nor
manipulated by others.
Gentleness requires more courage than does violence and
demands constant training as intense as that for any battle. Gentleness is not
a hiding place from life, but a fortress of peace lying beyond the reach of any
indignity from fate or foe. To be truly gentle does not mean to leave the
struggle for a better world. Gentleness is the art of living in the eye of
life’s storms. True gentleness simply means to be in full possession of our own
hearts.
Jim
Rigby
___________________________________
They simmer and fester
Deep in the soul
The anger, dare I say hate?
Those emotions that are both violent and lead to
violence.
There is energy there
Fire
And the pressure builds
Until we act out, our emotions making our choices
rather than our brains
We are in the territory of demons
What else can we call them
These malign thoughts
This foul presence
The feelings are not unfounded.
The greed is real
So are the abuses of power, and the lies
The harm is real
People are oppressed, and freedom is stolen
Children are killed
People in power do evil things,
And do not care (do you?)
How can we not be mad!
How can we not respond with every fiber of our being?
How can we not resist, violently, angrily!
And yet we live in the shadow of the cross
Or perhaps, on this day, the firing squad
And the words of Jesus echo:
Forgive them
Today you will be with me in paradise
Mother, behold your son
Behold your mother
On that day, in the midst of the pain and brutality
The injustice
There was peace
A peace that was beyond understanding
There was gentleness
Just as violence emerges from hate
So gentleness emerges from peace,
And peace
Comes because the Lord is near (Philippians)
It is peace that guards our hearts and our minds
Peace that makes us
Healers
And the carriers of hope
There are too many days when I am not peace-filled
Too many days when my soil is roiled
Too many days when what oozes from my soul are not
The fruits of the Spirit
But the produce of the Flesh
I don’t want to be like that
I don’t want to be tossed around by the winds of hate
I don’t want to be manipulated by the likes of Donald
Trump
I want to be gentle, kind, forgiving
A healer
I know I cannot ignore evil.
I cannot step back into silent places of safety
But I can be controlled by love
I can let Jesus have possession of my heart
And I can be a safe place
In the midst of the storm
And that, that
Is what I want to be
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