Turn the Other Cheek

It struck me recently what turning the other cheek means. It is to be pro-active in seeking to resolve conflicts and violence. It is not to be passive, to play the punching bag. It is rather to blunt the normal mimetic escalation of violence by lowering the fists, the sword, the gun, by quieting the angry words. This is not passive but extremely active and challenging. I am real good at escalation; not very good at all at deceleration.