"The work and office of meekness is to enable us to govern our own anger when at anytime we are provoked, and patiently bear out the anger of others that it may not be a provocation to us." (Matthew Henry)
Meekness is often misrepresented as weakness, as being a quiet doormat. But meekness is strength, meekness holds a center; it is calm and not provoked or provoking. Its sereneness comes from connection to something Higher than the fleeting tempers of man. Meekness means being master over the passions.
"Meekness demonstrates gracious restraint. It responds to accusations or criticism with restraint rooted in humility..." (1 Peter 3:8–9)
From a Hermetic standpoint, anger is a detriment to the spirit, and a power that we should work to transmute.
To help practice embodying meekness and quietness of spirit: we could remind ourselves often that the great symphony of life is happening as it should, that each individual, including us, has their own journey to undergo, their own lessons to pluck from the ripe soil of hardship, most of which we cannot control, though what we can and ought to master is our own inner nature, to connect with that Higher thing that dwells in each of us and yearns to be remembered amidst the drama of life here on a physical plane.
"Any person capable of angering you becomes your master." (Epictetus)
To practice embodying meekness and quietness of spirit, it's also helpful to be aware of the ego in us that needs to be right, needs to be seen or heard, needs to be acknowledged for deeds, needs others to hold it in high regard... we have to instead surrender and settle into the still calm place of transcendent response to slights and offenses encountered throughout the day. One tool we can use to forge this new habit is making the distinction between the infinite and finite in us. The finite wants to react, to defend itself, to be right, to make its point heard, but the infinite focuses on the state of the eternal part of itself, the part that knows purification, devotion, and transmutation are the raison d'être, and the rest a distraction. In this realization, there's no longer anything to prove or defend, only an ease where meekness and quietness of spirit can prosper.
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The Alchemist by David Ryckaert the Younger, 1649 |
