Imagine the greatness this world would know if kindness were as contagious and enduring as the common cold.
-Richelle E. Goodrich
A few days ago, I was having lunch with a good friend. He doesn’t know I am sharing this story and I have a sense he would prefer I not share his name.
We got together after he reached out to discuss One Kind Act a Day with me and agreed to meet at a favorite restaurant. He was generously curious about our venture and asked a number of insightful questions causing me to think deeply about our mission, how to improve our value proposition (as if kindness really needed one), and how we plan on getting the message out. It was a fantastic and thorough conversation about the challenge of inspiring, motivating, and most importantly, getting people engaged with kindness.
I wanted to thank him for his kindness, his thoughtful questions, and his genuine interest in our objectives. so, I gifted him one of our new Kindness Coins (coins you don’t get to keep; you get to share – contact us if you want one). Then he did something quite remarkable. He stated he had been so inspired by our conversation he wanted to do something kind – right now! So, he called the waiter over and told him he wanted to buy lunch for everyone in the restaurant. He tried to ask the waiter to be discreet about it, however in the excitement of this unique moment the waiter announced to everyone there that their lunches had been paid for.
As grateful as I am for this amazingly kind gesture, what I wonder is how far it went from there. I have a great feeling those people walked out not thinking “score – free lunch!” I’m confident they thought, “now – what are we going to do in similar fashion?” Kindness grows. Kindness is contagious. One kind act leads to another. One person lit up a dozen lives in a small restaurant, who likely in turn lit up dozens more.
This post comes from Curtis Bennett our Executive Director. He was inspired by a kind act he witnessed and as a member of our kindness community is welcome to share. If you witness a kind act you think is worth sharing, please send us your Kindness Story to help inspire others as well.