We’ve all known them, those individuals who remain calm in times of stress, who can sit quietly amongst chaos, and even in the most trying of times have an air of gentleness. Gentleness is a virtue that one finds more often than not in the more mature of humans…those who see life as a place where things aren’t to be treated with extreme emotions or swings of attitude, but with love and gratitude.
When I was a little boy I loved to watch the TV show “Superman” starring George Reeves. It was typical, early, black and white television (yes, I’m that old!) where a simple plot was woven into the weekly storyline demonstrating the amazing powers of Superman and his relationships with his: side-kick photographer Jimmy Olsen, love interest Lois Lane, Police Detective Trask, and bumbling editor Perry White.
This little show depicted the usual villain being hunted for a crime with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen trying to get the “scoop” for a story in The Daily Planet newspaper. Bespectacled Clark Kent, who was Superman in disguise, was described in the opening sequence as “mild mannered”, the reporter who never got the story, always showed up late to the crime scene or when the villain had already been apprehended. Of course, as Superman, he’d already done all of the apprehending.
Kent would always wink to the camera at the end when he would take the usual ribbing from his co-workers about how he was habitually slow and would never make a good reporter. Clark was a gentle character and George Reeves played him perfectly.
The writers of Superman knew that by developing the characters of Superman and Clark Kent is such a fashion they would show how a super hero with other-worldly powers could also be very human, and humane, while displaying a gentleness that belied an individual who garnered such tremendous abilities. Just for fun, here is the opening sequence:
“Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! Its’ a plane! It’s Superman!”
“Yes, its’ Superman, a strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man. Superman – who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel with his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights the never ending battle for Truth, Justice and the American Way.”
Wonderful stuff!
Gentleness is a virtue that is rapidly fading from sight in today’s world. Why? When did the sense of being gentle become an attribute of only the weak?
Gentleness can be used in many arenas of life, and we get so much satisfaction from it that I’m amazed how we have dismissed it from our modern day demeanor. I mean, aren’t we gentle with babies? Puppies? Kittens? Why not each other?
TV shows like “Survivor” and “The Apprentice” only reinforces the now stereotypical scheming and conniving individual that America has come to see as heroes. Heroes? Give me a break.
By teaching our children and young adults that being devious and two-faced in our dealings with others in work or play, we create a whole generation of thousands of kids who believe that kind of behavior is normal and expected. Wow, what have we done to our country and ourselves?
Yes, I understand that in the real world of adults not everyone plays with integrity and fairness, but to teach our children to combat that behavior with more shrewdness and backstabbing only perpetuates the problem.
By giving our children, and ourselves for that matter, permission to live with gentleness in our lives, we also give them hope. Hope that life can be fair, fun, entertaining, educational and fulfilling. Obviously, we still need to teach them how others will not act with a sense of fairness or ethics and integrity, but just because others do it doesn’t mean that the fair-minded have to succumb to the depths of the common and vulgar who won’t play by the rules and push everything to extremes.
Give gentleness a try. Use it at work with someone who could use a kind word, gesture or assistance with a task. Be gentle in traffic with those who are obviously struggling. Be gentle with people who have tough jobs like the garbage collector, highway repair personnel, truck drivers and cashiers.
Remember, what you put out comes back to you, so be gentle daily and see how others will be gentle with you. Life would be so much better if we all took other’s situations into account before lashing out rudely; take a deep breath, think how you’d like to be treated if the shoes were on the foot; be a Superman or Superwoman and be gentle.
In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion, mine.
Keith E. Renninson is a motivational speaker and co-author of the popular parenting tool and illustrated storybook for children, "Zooch the Pooch, My Best Friend" and the new "101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life". Through the 1990's with much self-examination, academic study, bicycle racing, and mountain climbing, he discovered a renewed zest of life, which included a love of metaphysics, philosophy, humor, and writing and speaking. As Keith says, "Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue...it's all in what you make of it." You can read more about "Zooch the Pooch" or contact Keith to speak at:
http://www.zoochthepooch.com Keith and his co-author Michael Conrad Kelley speak to teens and adults on "The Seven Simple Steps to a More Fulfilling Life." This course focuses on how to build a successful Life Philosophy that works for each individual.
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