A lot of people assume that kind people are weak — and that’s a mistake. Because the kindest people I know all have unshakeable inner cores, a steely resolve that keeps them steady. For them, being mild mannered is a choice. They could be cruel if they wanted to be. They know how to do it. (And everything in between.)
Kindness isn’t something they do because they can’t do anything else. No, kindness is something they choose to do on purpose, even if it’s harder sometimes. Even if the world seems bent on testing them some days.
I look at my grandmother. She is the sweetest person I know. She makes Glenda the good witch from the Wizard of Oz look hard and cynical. And yet… when she is put in a position where she needs to protect a person she loves, she’s terrifying. You’d better watch out.
Anyway, that’s what I see whenever I meet a sweet person. I do not see someone weak or defenseless. I see a core of steel wrapped in layers of softness. And I always know that those layers can be stripped away at a moment’s notice if the need arises.
I know it intimately actually. I’m the same way — even though I forget since these days it’s thankfully rare that someone tests me. However, the other day I was put in a very bad position, one in which I needed to protect my family. And I surprised myself most of all when that hard center protruded from me and I simply did what needed to be done. I took care of the threat.
After it was over, I was confused. A little shaken. But back to my old self again. The kind person I try very hard to be. That center only came out to protect me. To protect us. And once it was no longer needed, I was mild mannered.
“Think I may have married right,” my very impressed husband said.