Have Courage (to) Be Kind - Lesson from Cinderella

In the 2015 movie Cinderella starring Lily James, her dying mom bequeathed to her two pieces of wisdom to help her cope with life. 

Have courage and be kind. 

Observing Cinderella’s life in the evil hands of her stepfamily, one may think that there could be a minor amendment to the advice.

Have courage to be kind.

It is not easy to be kind to someone who you would rather feed to the piranhas if given the chance. It is not easy to be kind to someone who refuses you justice. It is not easy to be kind to someone who does not respect you. It is definitely not easy to be kind if no matter what you do, that person returns evil for every good you do. And it is not easy to be kind to someone who thinks your kindness mean their victory over you. 

That’s why you need courage to be kind.

Being kind demands greater strength and courage to refrain from repaying ill-doing from wrong. Try this. If someone says something you find insulting to you, what is your instinctive reaction? Is it to smile, or is it to fight back? For me, it is easier to tell the person off. That’s why I think you need to have courage to be kind.

Aikido in Japan uses techniques that allow the would-be victims to protect themselves against their aggressor and their aggressor from harm. I think kindness has the same impact. Kindness protects the aggrieved and the aggressor from any further harm.

The greatest and most effective weapons take a lot to master. As with kindness, you need to practice it daily in order to turn it into your greatest asset. I believe one of the things that parents could teach their kids is the importance of being kind to everyone.

So if you get the chance to watch Cinderella with your kids, here are some questions you may want to ask your kids?

1. Do you think it is easy to for Cinderella to be kind?
2. How do you think being kind helped Cinderella get through with her life?
   
3. Give me one example how you can be kind to others? (You have to ensure that your child answers specifically, with his own life experiences with his friends, siblings, etc.)

Have a great time being kind.