Live Gently

Jewish theologian and peace activist Abraham Joshua Heschel, who lived to be 65, said, “When I was young I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.” Heschel had good reason to admire kind people, as two colleagues helped him escape from Poland six weeks before the country was invaded by Germany. Heschel’s mother and three of his sisters were killed by the Nazis. In his later years, inspired by the teachings of the Hebrew prophets, Heschel worked for African Americans' civil rights and spoke out against the Vietnam War.

Mattie Stepanek

Heschel would have found a kindred spirit in Mattie Stepanek, who was born 18 years after Heschel died. Stepanek did not have the luxury of gaining wisdom that comes with age, as he died of a rare form of muscular dystrophy when he was age 14. In his short lifetime, Stepanek too was a peace activist; he called everyone to be “a peace seeker, a peace maker, a peace bringer.” He also was a proponent of kindness, saying, “Think gently, speak gently, live gently.”

In a polarized world, living gently is a gift to ourselves and to others. When we think and speak gently, we are able to avoid the shame of treating others unkindly and contributing to a culture of violence through our speech and actions. Living gently helps us foster an attitude of reverence toward all of God’s creation that generates healing and peace.

We can reinforce our intention to live gently with a simple blessing ritual. After dipping a finger in water, hold it to your forehead and say, “May I think gently.” Touch your lips and say, “May I speak gently.” Touch the area over your heart and say, “May I live gently.” When performed regularly, this brief ritual can help us integrate our desire to be a person of peace by checking us when unkind thoughts, words, or impulses arise in us.

We do not know how long we will have to be bringers of peace in our world. Mattie Stepanek showed us that even in a brief span of years, our efforts to live gently can bear fruit and echo long after we die and enter more fully into the peace of our loving God.