WEAPONS OF MASS COMPASSION
Read Time: 3 Minutes
The Power of Peace: Embracing the Paradox of Strength
Defencelessness is your greatest weapon
Defencelessness is not weakness
It is not passivity and it is not denial
It is the deep, radical trust that who you are cannot be attacked
It is the knowing that who you really are needs no protection
To live in defencelessness is to drop the armour of the ego — the constant need to guard, react, justify or prove
It is to stand your ground in quiet knowing, allowing peace to be your strength…
Through this simple act of pure, positive selfishness, you allow yourself to be deeply available to love
That might seem, at first glance, to contradict the idea of positive aggression — something I recently wrote about as a necessary force of self-assertion, creative drive and protective energy
Isn’t aggression a kind of defence?
Yes — and no. Here’s the paradox…
Positive Aggression: The Spark of Forward Motion
Positive aggression isn’t violence. It’s a fire that fuels healthy boundaries, bold self-expression and unwavering action in service of the truth
It’s what drives the artist to finish the project, the activist to stand up and speak out and the employee to say; “This is not okay” when faced with unacceptable demands
But for this aggression to be positive, conscious, clean and constructive, it must be free of fear
That’s where defencelessness enters
The Meeting Point: Fearlessness
Defencelessness is not the absence of action. It is the absence of fear-based reactivity. It is the calm center from which right action naturally flows
In this way, defencelessness is the foundation of positive aggression, because when you’re not defending an ego, a wound, or a false identity, you’re free to act from truth rather than trauma
You can be fierce without being fearful, assertive without being angry and powerful without being forceful
Think of a martial artist rooted in peace — disciplined, calm and deadly if needed, but responsive and responsible
Think of a tree that bends wildly with the wind yet cannot be broken
Think of someone who speaks truth to power not out of outrage, but out of love for what is right
That is the union of defencelessness and positive aggression; stillness in motion, meditation in movement
Let’s put this into context…
In your day-to-day life, here’s what this paradox might look like:
• You say no to someone crossing a boundary — not to punish, but to protect your peace
• You speak up about injustice — not to shame, but to shine light on wrongdoing
• You create boldly without needing validation, because your worth isn’t on the line
• You walk away from conflict when it’s clear that engagement would be ego battling ego
All of these actions may appear assertive or even aggressive — but if they’re coming from a place of inner stillness, clarity and love, they are defenceless in the truest sense
It’s not about being a doormat.
Being completely selfless creates its own problems, as does being completely selfish, a balance of both are healthy
When we’re connected to who we really are, which is a conduit of complete clarity, peace and love, we need no protection. From that place, even our most assertive action can carry the softness of grace
To be defenceless is to be free
To be free is to act without fear
To act without fear is to let love move through you — sometimes gently, sometimes fiercely, always truly.
With love, Jamie Lee