Gentle and steadfast

We usually assume that a moral person is gentle and easy to get along with. That is true. A moral person generally does not react strongly when things go against them. Being gentle means not reacting strongly: when a response is called for, they choose a mild, calm and measured one.

People whose gentleness has become their nature tend to have an amiable, kindly face. To get there, a person has to choose gentleness again and again over many lifetimes. Most of us alternate between gentleness and aggression. Sometimes we choose a mild, quiet attitude, and sometimes a strong reaction.

Some people have a beautiful but sharp face, which means their mind is not entirely gentle. Others have a beautiful, kind face, which means that in the past they kept to gentle responses.

In most situations, choosing gentleness is the best response. Aggression is only a private, personal matter. That is why politicians who appear before the public try to stay gentle and calm. Sometimes they meet something awkward, such as being booed, having a shoe thrown at them or being asked a hostile question, and they still keep their composure and answer with good humor. Such a person has real political mettle.

Gentleness is also a sign of culture, education and a good family upbringing. Fierceness, rudeness, foul language, a red face and flailing arms show that a person was not raised with a proper education.

Still, the gentleness of a moral person differs from the weakness of someone with little merit. Gentleness is a moral choice. Weakness is helplessness, from lacking advantage or lacking wisdom. A gentle, moral person stands firm in distinguishing right from wrong. They are gentle, but they never compromise with what is wrong.

They are gentle because they are moral, not because they are weak and helpless. So when they must choose between right and wrong, good and evil, they are steadfast. Steadfastness is strength, and morality gives us the strength to stand firm on the side of the good. Ordinarily a moral person speaks little and does not react strongly, but when a clear choice between good and evil is required, they show an extraordinary strength that no money or power can move.

As the cause, so the result. People like this will go to a place where a community of equally noble people lives, and enjoy the happiness of living in a moral community.