What is a Gentle Rebel?
I began using the term gentle rebel in 2013. It seemed a good way to describe the characteristics I had noticed in many of the introverted and sensitive people I was meeting at the time. Beneath the apparently quiet and compliant exteriors were rich and complex inner worlds, full of surprises.
Sensitive souls tend to dance to a different rhythm. The world’s demanding metronome doesn’t reflect the time and space required for deep processing. But it’s not just a matter of need; highly sensitive people might naturally crave more space for dwelling in, reflecting on, and observing the subtle flavours in the world around them.
When I explored the trait early on, I noticed lots of inspiring, sensitive people around me. I was drawn to the strength of those who held to their values and moved through life at their natural pace. They gently push against the injunction to rush, consume, and dominate the world, greeting it instead with a firm back and a soft front. Some of these folk had found ways to transcend society’s preoccupation with competition, tribalism, and the fight for control.
The Collective Rebel
It might not sound like rebellion. But for a sensitive nervous system, the insta-connected, attention-demanding, full-throttle pace of our ultra-globalised world can undermine the feeling of safety that comes through healthy social bonds.
Those who I have come to think of as gentle rebels relate to things differently. They see people as equals. They find the human beneath the surface and tend to avoid hierarchical ranking.
This kind of gentle rebellion isn’t simply an individual endeavour. I don’t think of gentle rebels as lone wolves, pitting themselves in a fight against the world. They play their part in the ecosystem of species survival, dependent on co-regulation, collaboration, and cooperation.
The Gentle Part of Rebellion
Gentleness is often misrepresented. The word can carry mild flavours of diluted passivity. But at its core, it is a deep pool through which human connection and strength are forged and reinforced. Gentleness meets the moment’s needs, flexing in life’s storms with a firm back and soft front.
It holds people to account for their actions while accepting our many imperfections. In other words, it holds space for our humanity. For failure. For truth.
In partnership with sensitivity, gentleness allows the whole person to arise and belong. Gentleness permits us to sense life, process experiences, and express ourselves in ways unique to each of us.
The Rebel Part of Gentleness
In her book Introvert Power, author Laurie Helgoe distinguishes between shadow-dwelling and accessible introverts. She paints these positions as adaptations to an extrovert-centric world.
The shadow dweller withdraws from the community, finding a sense of self-identity in opposition to society. In contrast, the accessible introvert wears a mask and appears to fit in while suppressing their natural rhythms, needs, and preferences.
A third approach, gentle rebellion, emerges from the courage to express oneself in a world that doesn’t always make it easy. It’s not a prescribed set of actions, an ideology, or a belief system. Instead, it’s informed by our sensitivity to the world within, around, and between us. It is the courage to act in sync with our values and actions, leaving us dancing to the beat of a different drum.
Gentleness is an act of rebellion.
The Path of Gentle Rebellion
It’s impossible to truly see through someone else’s eyes. We all have a unique foundational story, values, and perspective. Likewise, gentle rebellion looks and feels different to each of us.
My aim in The Haven is to embrace our differences and explore our sensitivities through tools, resources, and opportunities to connect with our inner rebels. I want it be somewhere people can gently reframe their understanding of they we are in light of their sensitivity. And embrace those characteristics that have been squeezed out by cultural messaging.
May we explore our potential and support others to do the same!
Does the idea of gentle rebellion ring true for you? I’d love to know whether it fits with your experiences of sensitivity. Or, if like many highly sensitive people I’ve worked with over the years, you struggle to see yourself as rebellious. Drop me a message or join us inside the membership to explore more.
