OLD WOMAN: Always be a gentleman, my boy.
ME: You mean polite, gracious, humble?
OLD WOMAN: No, I mean always be a gentle man. Act softly and kindly to others and to yourself.
ME: In everything?
OLD WOMAN: Yes. In everything. You don’t need to be hard, like others may say. Hard things break. Soft things never do. Be like grass. It gets stepped on and flattened but regains its shape again once the pressure passes. It is humble, accepting and soft. That’s what makes it strong.
~ from Richard Wagamese's magnificent book Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations. ~
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