Image courtesy of Facebook/Pinterest.

I love this meme because of the unexpected juxtaposition of Kindness and Kickassery.  There aren’t many great ‘K’ words, but these are definitely my favorite. But what does it mean?  How can we apply this wonderful combination of words in everyday life?  My daughter gave me some ideas recently.  She has been interested in Japanese culture for a while, and recently got into the Inuyasha comic series.  I asked her why she likes it so much.  She said it’s helping her feel more brave, and that she likes the heroine, Kagome, because she’s “tough and kind.”  She is willing to go through hardships to help the other protagonist, Inuyasha.  That’s it!  Kindness and Kickassery!

We talked about some movie characters she also likes (I like them, too): Black Widow from the Marvel movies, and Ilsa Faust from Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.  We decided we thought they, too, were “tough and kind.”  We admire their Kickass fighting skills, their ability to hold their own among the boys, and their dedication to mission, as well as their ability to connect to other characters on an emotional level.  As I think about it I can’t say that kindness is their chief strength, but I can still apply this mantra to my own life.

Kick Ass simply means do it like you mean it. No holding back, be your badass self.  No apologies.  Because Kickass, and its cousin Badass, are the antitheses of Half-ass.

Kindness means do it in the service of treating others well, of holding them up—no matter who they are, no matter what you’re doing, no matter how hard.

So in a way, it’s the perfect combination. Because Kickass by itself has potential to harm—if we do things thoughtlessly, brazenly, and without regard to other people’s feelings.  Combined with Kindness, though, we are grounded in, once again, our connections with others.  Kindness channels our Kickass energy always in a positive direction.  Sometimes we may worry that being Kind will lead to others taking advantage of us.  But just picture it: Kindness with the force of a no-holds-barred-I-got-this-just-stand-aside-and-let-me-work-here-please attitude carries weight.  This kind of robust confidence, rooted in doing the right thing, commands respect and deference from would-be naysayers.

So let’s all try to practice some Kickass Kindness,eh?