On Meekness, Humility, and Love.
A general write-up on Meekness, Humility & Love. Edited and adapted from All These Things Added by James Allen. This is edited and adapted from All These Things Added by James Allen, published in 1903.
THE mountain
bends not to the fiercest storm, but it shields the fledgling and the lamb, and though all people tread upon it, yet it protects them, and bears them up upon
its sturdy bosom. So it is also with the meek among us, who compassionately
bend to shield the lowliest creature, and, though they may be despised, lift
all others up and lovingly protect them.
As glorious as
the mountain in its silence are the divine man and woman in their silent
Meekness; like the mountainous form, their loving embrace is expansive and
sublime. Truly their body, like the mountain’s base, is fixed in the valleys
and the mists; but the summit of their being is eternally bathed in cloudless
glory, and lives with majestic Silence.
When you have
found Meekness, you have found divinity. You have realized the divine
consciousness, and know yourself as divine. You also know all others as divine
— though they know it not themselves, being asleep and dreaming. Meekness is a
divine quality, and as such is all-powerful. The meek person overcomes by not
resisting, and by allowing themselves to be defeated, they attain the
Supreme Conquest.
If you conquer
another by force, you are strong. If you conquer yourself by Meekness you are
mighty. When you conquer another by force, you will likewise be conquered. When
you conquer yourself by Meekness, you will never be overthrown, for the human
being cannot overcome the divine.
The meek
individual is triumphant in defeat. Socrates lives the more by being put to
death. In the crucified Jesus, the risen Christ is revealed. That which is real
cannot be destroyed — but only that which is unreal. When you find within
yourself that which is real, which is constant, abiding, changeless, and
eternal, you enter into that Reality, and become meek. All the powers of
darkness will come against you, but they will do you no hurt, and will, at last,
depart from you.
The meek man and
woman are found in times of trial. When other people fall, they stand. Their
patience is not destroyed by the foolish passions of others, and when attacks
are made against them, they do not "strive nor cry" — for they know
the utter powerlessness of all evil, having overcome it in themselves, and thus
live in the changeless strength and power of divine Good.
Meekness is one
aspect of the operation of that changeless Love which is at the Heart of all
things and is, therefore, an imperishable quality. Those who live in meekness
are without fear, knowing the Highest, and having the lowest under their
feet.
The meek person
shines in darkness and flourishes in obscurity. Meekness does not boast, advertise itself, nor thrive on popularity. It is practiced and is
sometimes seen or not seen — being a spiritual quality it is perceived only by
the eye of the spirit.
Those who are not
spiritually awakened see it not, nor do they love it, being enamored of (and
blinded by) worldly shows and appearances. Nor does history take note of the
meek individual. History’s glory is that of strife and self-aggrandizement; the
glory of the meek is peace and gentleness. History chronicles the earthly, not
the heavenly acts. Yet though the meek live in obscurity, they cannot be hidden
(how can light be hidden?). They continue to shine after they have withdrawn
themselves from the world, and are worshipped by the world which knew them
not.
That the meek
among us should be neglected, abused, or misunderstood is reckoned by them as
of no account, and therefore not to be considered, much less resisted. They
know that all such weapons are the flimsiest and most ineffectual of shadows.
To those, therefore, who give them evil, they give good. They resist none, and
thereby conquer all.
If you imagine
that you can be injured by others, and seek to justify and defend yourself
against them, you do not understand Meekness and do not comprehend the essence and
meaning of life.
If you harbor
such thoughts as "they abused me, they beat me, they defeated me, they
robbed me,” your hatred will never cease . . . for hatred ceases not by hatred
at any time. Hatred ceases by love.
You say that your
neighbor has been spreading lies about you? Well, what of that? Can a falsity
hurt you? That which is false is false, and there is an end to it. It is
without life, and without power to hurt any but those who seek to hurt by it.
It is nothing to you that your neighbor should speak falsely about you, but it
will mean much if you should attack them in return and try to justify yourself
— for, by so doing, you give life and vitality to your neighbor’s lies, and are
thus injured and distressed.
Take all anger
and evil out of your own heart, then you will see the folly of resisting it in
another. Are you being trodden upon? You are trodden upon already if you think
like that. The injury that you see as coming from another comes only from
yourself. The wrong thought, word, or act of another has no power to hurt
you unless you galvanize it into life by your passionate resistance, and so
receive it into yourself.
If any person
slanders you, that is their concern, not yours. Your concern is with your own
soul, not with your neighbor’s. Though all the world may misjudge you, it is no
business of yours; but that you should possess your soul in Kindness and Love:
that is all your business.
There shall be no
end to strife until we stop justifying ourselves. Those who would like to put
an end to the wars, let them cease to defend any party — let them cease to
defend themselves. Not by strife can peace come, but by ceasing from strife.
The glory of
Cæsar resided in the resistance of his enemies. They resist and fall. But give
to Cæsar that which Cæsar demands, and Cæsar’s glory and power are gone. Thus,
by submission do the meek conquer the strong — for it is not that outward show
of submission which is slavery, it is that inward and spiritual submission
which is freedom.
Claiming no rights,
the meek individual is not troubled with self-defense and self-justification.
They live in love and therefore come under the immediate and vital protection
of the Great Love which is the Eternal Law of the universe. The meek neither
claim nor seek their own; thus do all things come to them, and all the universe
shields and protects them.
If you are saying
to yourself, "I have tried Meekness, and it failed," then you have
not tried Meekness. It cannot be tried as an experiment. It is only arrived at
by unreserved self-sacrifice. Meekness does not consist merely of
non-resistance in action. It consists pre-eminently in non-resistance in your thoughts,
in ceasing to hold or to have any selfish, condemnatory, or retaliatory
thoughts. The meek man and woman, cannot "take offense" or have their
"feelings hurt," for they are living above hatred, folly, and vanity.
Meekness can never fail.
If you are
striving for a greater spiritual life, a more blessed life, strive after
Meekness. Increase your patience and forbearance day by day; bid your tongue
cease all harsh words; withdraw your mind from selfish arguments, and
refuse to brood upon those who have wronged you. By living this way, you will
carefully tend and cultivate the pure and delicate flower of Meekness in your
heart, until at last, its divine sweetness and purity and beautiful perfection
shall be revealed to you, and you will become gentle, joyful, and strong.
Fret not that you
are surrounded by irritable and selfish people, but rather rejoice that you are
so wise as to have your own imperfections revealed to you and that you are
awake to the struggle for self-mastery and the attainment of perfection. The
more there is harshness and selfishness around you, the greater is the need
for your Meekness and love.
If others seek to
wrong you, all the more is it needed that you should cease all wrong and
live in love. If others preach Meekness, humility, and love, and do not
practice these, trouble not, nor be annoyed — but in the silence of your own
heart, and in your contact with them, practice these things, and they
shall preach themselves. And even though you made no declaration, nor stood
before a gathered audience, you shall teach the whole world.
As you grow in meekness, you will learn the deepest secrets of the universe. Nothing is hidden from those who overcome themselves. Into the cause of causes you shall penetrate, and lifting, one after another, every veil of illusion, will reach at last the inmost Heart of Being. By becoming one with Life (and seeing into causes, and knowing realities), you will no longer be anxious about yourself, others, and the world, but shall see that all things are engines of the Great Law. Canopied with gentleness, you shall bless where others curse; love where others hate; forgive where others condemn; yield where others strive; give up where others grasp; lose where others gain — and in their strength, they shall be weak; but in weakness, you shall be strong, and mightily prevail.
