gentle


 

It always seems funny to me that the Bible translators translate “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” when in fact the best translation is “Blessed are the gentle.”

What so stunned me when living with my elephant was how big and strong and yet how gentle she was.  She would toss me up onto her forehead by placing her trunk between my legs and she would purr while I laughed.  She was strong and she was powerful – able to yank a banana tree from the ground in one pull.  But her gentleness was unmistakable.

I hope I am sometimes gentle.  I want to be. It’s not always easy in our culture.  Everyone is trying to get ahead and even the slightest hesitation in front of a green light will bring a barrage of honking horns.  People are not always gentle and yet I cannot help but notice how often animals are gentle
– so very gentle.

She had eyes which were so dark and brown that they seemed connected to the black hole from which the Big Bang emerged.   She was soft.  She was gentle. Knowing her helped me to better understand this piece from the Sermon on the Mount.  The gentle will inherit the earth because God will leave it to them.

I remember those elephant eyes of great gentleness and it reminds me that gentle means neither meek nor weak.

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