Peaceableness is one the characteristics I believe has an important place in the gentle rebel's toolbox. Gentle rebels are driven by a deep sense of creative peaceableness - the alternative to reactive anger and hostility.

It’s a part of what makes a gentle rebel. It is built into the natural fabric of a gentle rebel, and is also an attractive trait that is learned as a result of cultural and social conditioning. In other words, it's not always easy to choose the way of peaceableness.

Peaceableness is the Difficult Choice

It is a choice in the same way that love is a choice or conscious action. It's not simply some feeling that we wait to experience. Rather it is a value that we bring to a relationship and situation. Peaceableness is a response to a person, situation, or experience which requires an intervention in the natural order. To say 'I know that I feel like reacting in kind, but I choose to find a peaceful path through this'.

Look up the word 'peaceable' and you might see things like, ‘someone inclined to avoid conflict’, ‘not quarrelsome or argumentative or hostile’ or perhaps 'shying away from confrontation'.

This doesn't provide the whole picture, especially for peaceable gentle rebels. We are people who yes, while not enjoying hostility and conflict, don't simply run away or hide. When the cause is important to us we will fight to find a way to bring change and find a resolution to conflict. We try to avoid the supposed logic of redemptive violence as a solution. And recognise that peaceable alternatives are more attractive, which appears to be a self-evident reality from the lessons of history and our own interpersonal relationships.

Peaceable People are Attractive

I am drawn towards peaceable people. There is something magnetic about those who seek peace above and beyond conflict and violence. It's refreshing, and creative. It shows depth of character and a thoughtfulness that transcends the status quo, easy way of looking at the world.

In this episode of the podcast we will have a look at what peaceableness isn't, as well as what it is. Words like Snowflake, Weak, Coward, Overly-Sensitive, and Naive might be used in the same breath but there is no correlation. And in this episode I explain why I believe peaceable people are in fact the opposite.