Two weeks ago, I was strolling through the aisles of Target searching for a new movie to pair with the mountain of popcorn in my basket. I looked through the comedy, horror and drama options before finally giving up and settling for something on Netflix. As I was waiting in the checkout line, I noticed a few more movie options conveniently placed in front of me. And there it was, the movie I had been waiting for: the new, live-action version of "Cinderella." Now the movie night could really begin!
I could write a novel on why that movie is absolutely incredible, but I’ll save it for later. Throughout the movie. there was a line constantly repeated: “Have courage and be kind.”
I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about this line and what it means to me. I’ve grown up in a generation that tends to look up to role models who embody anger and hatefulness. We have this fascination with watching people get “dragged” for simply being uneducated. We thrive on drama and "he said, she said" gossip. We no longer present our feelings in a vulnerable way, but in a way that is actually emotionless. We blame it on previous generations, social media and our lack of caffeine.
But in reality, we’ve grown accustomed to being rude and playing it off as a joke. Trust me, I am speaking to myself as well. For most of my life, I’ve wanted people to think I was intimidating when actually, I was terrified of other people’s harsh words. It’s easier to hide behind a tough mask then open yourself up to others. This mentality has caused relationships in my life to vanish because people no longer wanted to be around the girl who built up walls of anger to protect herself. It’s taken me quite a while to realize there is a difference between being standing up for yourself and being mean.
Don’t get me wrong, it is okay to be selective about the information you share and the people you let into your life. You have to take care of yourself and your mental health before anything else. What’s not okay is harboring hate and and a lack of forgiveness because your feelings were hurt. This does nothing but bring negative emotions into your life. This makes it easy to fall into a dangerous cycle of cutting people out the second they do something wrong.
We’re only placed on this earth for a few years. When you’re 89 years old, do you really think you’re still going to be bitter about that one time Stacey talked about you? Probably not, so let it go now. How do you really want to be remembered? As a person filled with forgiveness and kindness or a person who could think of a comeback to cut someone down quickly?
When we bring positive energy into our lives, we bring light into our lives. Maybe life about isn’t cutting people out of your life and living in rage. Maybe life is about learning to forgive and forget. What’s more powerful than showing love and kindness to those who do not deserve it?
