On Meekness, Humility and Love

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.