sobering, heavy, thought provoking, heart breaking,
insightful, funny,
disappointing, deep, sad, touching, lonely, grim,
These are the words that resonated in my mind today after watching the film
Finding Kind. A brilliant documentary on the long, and far reaching consequences, of meanness and bullying among school age girls and an attempt at curing it with kindness.
My youngest, and the other girls in her grade along with the grade above her, joined about eight hundred other girls/teachers and supervisors to see the film. It was moving,especially to see the way it touched the girls, as we really could all relate at some point in our lives, to the topic. It went as far as to mention our thoughts, and how at times those can be less than kind.(guilty!)
But as I pondered the message of these two lovely girls, and I applaud their efforts, my heart knows kindness on our own strength will be flat and futile.
( I thought this especially as I talked with the teacher after, and she said she wishes their was something she could do with the kids to get the message to stick.)
Meanness is nothing new. It started back in the Bible days, and has carried on throughout generations. I thought about my Bible study I did in the book of Esther. In the one video Beth Moore talks about mean girls and the harm they inflict.
Meanness always has a history. ( Beth Moore)
So as I contemplate, instead of feeling fearful and helpless; I pray we will be more, than just kind on our own, I pray we will be compassionate, and that people will see the love of the only truly perfectly kind God, radiating through me and you.
Watch a great video by Beth Moore here..
and another one here...
http://www.openbible.info/topics/being_mean
And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Ephesians 4 :32
Yes, meanness has been around forever, in various degrees and results, but so has kindness. Hoping that it will become a thing of the past purely with acts of kindness has proven ineffective. I agree, we need to take action; this epidemic is not being treated as life threatening, and in view of the recent tragedy in Nova Scotia, perhaps it should be.
ReplyDeletePoppy
Thank-you for your thoughts, I agree. Let's hope kindness can make a difference!
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