Gentleness is the most powerful weapon against any kind of violence.

Blessed are the meek . They will inherit the Earth . The evangelical message of the Beatitudes offers the meek a perspective that reverses their status: the violence and domination they have suffered throughout their lives will become a hegemony aimed at the good of all. A reward with the deserved control of Creation.

Yet, meekness, outside of specific circles, almost all of which are religiously based—think of the communities of monks and friars or the volunteer associations who commit themselves, even at great personal risk, to an ever-evolving peace or even just a truce—seems to have slipped off our radar. We don't recognize its value, we don't consider it useful, but rather counterproductive and a source of potential defeat. Something similar, albeit less markedly, has happened with kindness.

We live in times of conflict, even harsh ones. Wars have erupted around the world, as in Ukraine, out of a thirst for power and conquest, as if the hands of history had suddenly turned back . Clashes unfold in our homes, in our shared spaces, with the scandal of femicides alone sufficient to measure our decline in the value of gentleness. Let's not delude ourselves: conflict exists, and always will, in any community. And denying it only means closing our eyes to reality or burying our heads in the sand. But the very immanence of conflict should lead us to rediscover the importance of gentleness. So as not to squander it and to put it to good use.

Gentleness is simultaneously a method, a lifestyle, and a tool for gaining authority and credibility. Try a simple experiment. If you address a family conflict , of any magnitude, without the method of gentleness, the risk of relationships imploding becomes extremely high. Relationships may not withstand the full force of conflict. Gentleness as a method, however, allows you to gain a modicum of distance from the fever of confrontation. And it may even induce your opponent, or opponents, to do the same. Human relationships, let us remember, are always subject to a fundamental law of physics: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction . A gentle man, Gandhi, taught that even revolutions can be made without staining one's hands with blood, but with the banner of gentleness, capable of disorienting even the cruelest adversaries.

The meek person has his own lifestyle. His own way of expressing himself and relating to others. He knows and practices sobriety . He detests any form of violence. He is never "strong with the weak, and weak with the strong," but rather the opposite. And he does not consider meekness a defeat where humanity tends toward conflict and competition, narcissism and exclusive self-interest, all elements incompatible with meekness. Meek people, once recognized as such, acquire a visible authority . They are considered credible and reliable. They are to be respected, not ridiculed.

Famous quotes about gentleness

•  Norberto Bobbio

The violent, the self-centered, the narcissistic , though they abound, poison the air. They pollute. And thus make coexistence more complicated. Gentleness, on the other hand, opens the doors to better relationships.

•  Barbara Spinelli

Quietness is not synonymous with weakness, fragility , or surrender. In their calm approach to reality, meek people can be very determined.

•  Saint Anthony of Padua

A complicated path, certainly, difficult to imagine, but also a way to exercise gentleness.

•  Lao Tzu

Wasn't Gandhi brave? And with his courage, wasn't he able to change the destiny of millions of men?

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