Kay:
Alright. Welcome back Questers, we hope you’re having a fantastic Friday. It is July 23rd, and this is episode 405. We have a quote coming at you today from one of our absolute favorite Disney princesses, Cinderella. And Cinderella tells us “Where there is kindness. There is goodness and where there is goodness there is magic.”
Shi:
Such a beautiful princess. Whether you’re talking about the multiple Disney versions of Cinderella or even the old school fairy tale that’s been around for hundreds of years, Cinderella, the character herself has always been known for this incredible kindness, for this just genuine sincerity and love and willingness and devotion to work and to serve. Because of that, she ultimately gets rewarded and with that, she also receives some magic blessings and a fairy godmother. You know the story; we don’t have to remind you of the Cinderella story. But this quote right here helps us understand how those beautiful character qualities can turn out to be beautiful results in our life when we trust the process and we stay committed to our values and to that goodness on the inside.
Kay:
It can be very difficult in this world, in the face of darkness, in the face of mistruths, in the face of whatever man- this is a weird world. It is difficult sometimes to stay steadfast to the idea of kindness and sometimes it’s hard to hold that when things are flailing around you, but where you can remain in that value of kindness and empathy for others is love. Really, that’s where we can continue to shine that light of goodness from within and that’s where the magic of life is and that’s where it all springs from. Magic in life doesn’t spring from your darkest corners, magic springs from the times that you find the light. That really comes from the idea of, and I’d like to expand just that word “kindness” here into kindness, empathy, and love.
Shi:
Well, I’m glad that you said you wanted to go in that direction because that’s where I wanted to go as well. Okay, so if kindness is the seed that grows into the tree of life magic and whatever that means for you then what is kindness? And let’s talk about that. Kindness is this attitude of service, this willingness to look for the positive outcomes, this ability to be optimistic, to show love and compassion and empathy to others especially and significantly when those others can’t serve us or may be considered “lesser than us.” For Cinderella, we see this embodied in the animals that end up coming to serve her and to love her and to be her friends and her community. But that ability to have all of those emotions towards those that are struggling or that are less than us can really demonstrate true kindness when it’s hardest to give.
Kay:
I think kindness can sometimes get a bad rap too because oftentimes we think that kindness is the act of doing something positive or nice for someone else in a way that might yield us a result or count in some point bank of karma or the universe. So, I think that kindness can get misconstrued, or you might think that if a friend asks you, “well does this color make me look washed out? “And you think that, yes, it does indeed make them look washed out, but you feel like you are being unkind..You’re not doing your friend service by not being honest with them at that moment, because they’re asking for your opinion. So, figuring out that kindness has this dimension to it and when it comes forward authentically that’s where that goodness can really shine through.
Shi:
I like that example, Kay. It’s not necessarily that, “well, the kind thing is going to be not to say it.” The thing is going to be to deliver the message in a way that demonstrates love and support even if the message is difficult and that’s something Kay and I talk about a lot is this idea of the message versus delivery. Oftentimes the message isn’t wrong, or the message is objective, but the delivery can be so subjective and make the message sometimes poisonous or not work in our favor, which means we’ve really got to focus on that. Kindness is a style of delivery. To me, kindness is congruent with courtesy and being courteous. It’s showing that care and that compassion and that empathy. With that, as Cinderella points out, there is goodness. We know this is falling on that positive side for humanity, that loving side, that light side. Do we need both sides for the dimension? Of course we do, but we probably, (most of us), want to live as much as we possibly can on that lighter, brighter side of life.
Kay:
Yes, the white light of the infinite energy of the universe is so beautiful and obviously, we need stillness. We need darkness, we need contrast, but goodness, that spark of magic, that really comes from that light, that comes from that space. When you want to generate it in your life, you can start with kindness. You can begin with empathy and as Cinderella tells us, “Where there is kindness, there’s goodness, and where there is goodness there is magic.”
Shi:
Alright, it’s a Fri-yay Cinderella Quest for you today. Today, and over the weekend, we want you to nurture and grow the goodness in your life by finding as many moments as you possibly can to exude and integrate kindness, then watch what magic moments manifest from it. Are you ready? You can chime in here.
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
