I will take this as my mantra from now on. I do try to use all gently. To use my body gently. To use the people I encounter gently. There were so many years in which people were pushing me to be harder, to be rougher and firmer with people. It ran counter to my intuitions but I would try to do as I was told. I wanted to be right.
But I’ve been on the planet long enough now that I no longer care about being right for others. I’m much more interested in being right for me. And using all gently is right for me. And it somehow touches me to think about it, to imagine aiming at this idea instead of the old models of pushing violently, of using things and people roughly, storming through the planet and the world on it with a “Get out of my way” energy. It might not be possible to achieve the things I want with gentleness. . . but I’d rather achieve nothing with gentleness than achieve something with violence or force. It would be an empty victory.
The Hamlet Project 