Weapons of Beauty and Kindness

I heard a radio interview recently about the late writer David Rakoff.  One of the people on the program referred to Rakoff's perspective about the tragedies and injustices of life and how the only "weapons" to combat them are beauty and kindness.  Beauty and Kindness.  I'd never thought of them before as weapons, but it was interesting to hear those words strung together.  For the past year or more, I have been focusing a lot on thoughts about kindness.  As I grow older, I feel that being kind is more and more important to me. If I'm not kind, then what am I?  What better way to live life than to be kind?  Or to see the beauty in things?  And what better way to disarm and defeat tragedy and injustice than to find every opportunity to be kind.  As the sign says in the yard by which I walk occasionally, kindness matters.  What kindnesses will I show today?  How will I live the words attributed to Plato:  "Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle."?