GENTLENESS

WHAT IS GENTLENESS?

Is it a feeling? A way of life? Perhaps we know what it is by what it is not-- harshness. 

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Gentleness is, among many things, an art of caring. As philosopher and psychoanalyst Anne Dufourmantelle wrote, Gentleness acknowledges the potentiality of both yourself and others. It is found in the soft mews of a kitten, the resilience of a chick hatching from its egg, or the violet hues of the sun when it dares to rise again in the morning, regardless of the darkness from the previous night. 

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Gentleness is the courage to walk away from Despair, and throw ourselves into the warm embrace of Hope. 

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It is receptivity, sensitivity, and vulnerability.

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Gentleness is a power. A force. It is potential in its rawest and purest form. 

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But as we grow up, we might forget how to be gentle. We lose our softness, and trade it in for bitterness. Trauma erodes our tenderness and we succumb to pain.

There is a gift inside trauma, though, if we allow ourselves to heal.

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Inside traumatic events there are lessons which are found by asking these questions: How do I redeem this violence to become gentle? How can this darkness teach me to be tender?

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We need help remembering how to be soft, both with ourselves and with others. 

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Regardless of my presence in your life as therapist, consultant, or friend, I want this place to be a haven for you. One where you can surround yourself with Gentleness-- a place where you can find the Gentleness within yourself, and embrace it. 

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For you were born Gentle.