Matt Pauli is
a cool guy. He is sweet, smart,
funny. Oh, and he is a CLOWN. Like, a literal real life clown.
You miiiight not want to call Matt if you have brick work to be done... |
Matt clowns at
Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He works for Healthy Humor, an organization
that sends clowns into children’s hospitals around the country (full
disclosure: my sweetheart also works for
Healthy Humor – it is a great organization).
Anyway, recently Matt went to work at the hospital and went out of his way to park in a kind
manner. I don’t think he thought of it in that way, he just
thought he didn’t need to get in or out his passenger door, so why not make
things easier for other people in the parking garage. Here’s how he put it, “There are two parking spaces in the
garage at Johns Hopkins tightly tucked in between two concrete pillars. When I
parked for my clown shift, I put my car as close to the pillar on
the passenger side as I could, as I didn't need access to that door.”
There
is the first kind action in this story – Matt parked considerately, leaving
space for whoever decided to pull in next to him. When I asked him if he often parked that way,
he explained, “…it is as much about trying
to minimize the chances that someone will scrape against my car while trying to
squeeze into a tight spot as it is about anything else. I have seen SUVs parked in the spaces between
the columns straddling the lines to ensure that no one can attempt to park next
to them. Because of the columns, the spaces are just a little more narrow
than standard. I get very frustrated when I see a single car in two
parking spaces. I was taught that one of
the responsibilities of driving is that you have to follow all the rules.
Fitting one car into one space seems like an easy one to follow and failing to
do so makes a driver look not only rude but incompetent, in my mind.”
Yes Matt, that makes total sense. The rules of the road also apply to the
garage, but still, many drivers do not follow them. But you did, and you went out of your way to
squeeze close to the column to let another driver have a wider space. It might not have felt like you were doing
anything special at the time, but honestly you were. You were being KIND, and
really, isn’t that an easy thing we could all do if we took a moment to think
when we pull into a parking spot?
But
that isn’t the only kind thing that happened… Matt said, “When
I came back at the end of my shift, I saw that someone had left a note on the
door of my car. I thought, ‘Oh crap, that’s never good’. I was afraid that someone had scraped my car
trying to get into the space next to me.
I was ready to get very frustrated and angry. But I was mistaken in that assumption.”
LOOK AT THE
NOTE SOMEONE LEFT HIM TUCKED IN THE WINDOW OF HIS CAR!
Kind note - simple gestures like this mean a lot |
After reading
only half the note, Matt really wanted to show it someone. He rushed to find his co-worker, but she was
already pulling out of her space. So, as
he drove home he thought about taking a photo of the note and sharing the
story. Within an hour of posting it on
Facebook nearly 100 people had “liked” it or commented. This simple gesture really resonated with
people.
Isn’t that terrific?
Someone took the time to notice, write the note, and put it on his
car. And this was not just a person going
grocery shopping – this was a person who was going to the hospital for a family
member to get a serious treatment. Isn’t
is so kind that they wrote a note of thanks?
I think Matt expressed it perfectly by saying, “There are too many things that can bring us tension. I'm a little in awe
that this person chose to express the release of some tension to a
stranger. And that action can serve as an example to me to release some
of my own tension."
I am guessing the next time Matt parks at the hospital he will have a smile on his face remembering the blue note... |
This story
shows two easy ways to be kind – things most of us could do every day if we
thought about it: be a considerate
parker, and leave positive notes for people.
Keep a pad of post-its in your glove compartment or backpack to be ready
– I dare you!
Spread a
little kindness. We all know the world
could use more of it.