Today in the elevator, I overheard a man talking to his son. He said, “There’s a big difference between someone who is peaceful and someone who is weak. A peaceful person is capable of great violence. If you are not capable of violence, you are harmless.”

The elevator reached my floor. I looked back at the kid, he must have been only four or five, and he stared back at me with big, brown eyes. As I walked out, I murmured a quote I remembered under my breath.

“Those who have swords and know how to use them, but keep them sheathed, will inherit the Earth.”