Strength Without the Need to Assert Itself
What treasures are you storing up on earth; money, power, influence, status? When Jesus said “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5), he was not referring to persons who were weak or timid. Rather, he was calling out those who were able to stand up inside themselves, above the domination of their egos. The Greek word in Matthew is πραΰς (praus) describing gentleness and humility that do not arise from helplessness. A good way of expressing the idea is strength that does not feel a need to assert itself.
The meek are simply confident and grounded in who they are. They have nothing to prove to others; that they are better, smarter, wealthier or any other attribute often associated with “success” in the traditional sense of the word-and the world. But let’s step out of tradition for a moment and examine the treasures that Jesus would have expected the meek to store up on earth; love, kindness, humility, compassion, inclusion, dignity in their self-expression, charity, gratitude for the gifts they have been given, and accepting the council of their years.
The Beatitudes can be read as an illumination of what a human life can look like when ego, domination, possession, and fear cease to be its organizing principles. The guiding principles of the meek are not the absence of strength, but rather freedom of the need to prove or impose one’s strength, the courage to be different and stand out from the crowd, the courage to rise above limiting aspirations.
Their refuge is the courage to discover their uniqueness and to allow that individuality, aligned with their higher natures, to direct their thoughts and deeds, along with the courage and strength to rise above the fray of earthbound limitations; all things that contribute to the greater good as opposed to self-aggrandizement. I submit to you that “you cannot take it with you” accurately depicts the failure psychology of the human condition. Embracing the realities of the greater good will survive and catapult us into out next dimension of Life.
So, we each make the choice of whether to live or to die in the confines of our own minds, hearts and souls. What you choose in this moment may be your last choice, for who knows what tomorrow brings?
