You would think it would be EASY to give away kindness, wouldn’t you?
But things aren’t always as easy as they should be…
Take tonight for example.! My partner David and I were out running some errands, errands that included shopping. It is December 23rd, just 2 days before Christmas. I knew that there would be some stressed-out, last-minute shoppers out there, and I decided I would treat them! Here was the plan:
Find shoppers who were looking for gifts for OTHER
PEOPLE,
and treat them
to a gift for THEMSELVES! Easy, right??
1. The shopper needed to be alone
2. The shopper must have things in their cart/hands that looked like they were holiday shopping
3. The shopper needed to be female (not to be sexist, but I decided I would feel more comfortable approaching a women with this offer, and also felt like women would be more accepting of it)
4. The shopper must choose something for THEMSELVES, not for someone else
5. The budget was $50
6. The shopper must be wearing a mask, and wearing it properly
Rule number 6 proved to be the trickiest! We are in Florida for the holidays, and Florida seems to be “the land where people think science is make-believe”, so many people choose not to wear masks. And if they DO wear them, they are often down around their chin… So yeah, rule number 6 made it hard to find potential shoppers to treat.
We tried this kindness experiment first in Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I strolled the aisles for so long looking for someone who fit the bill to treat! Why, I am sure I walked more in that store than most B, B, and B associates do in a day! 😊 I finally decided on a woman I had passed a few times. She fit all of the criteria!
As I approached, I asked if she was doing her Christmas shopping. She confirmed that yes, that’s why she was in the store. I then explained that I run a project called Kindness Activist, and I wanted to treat her to a Christmas gift of her choice. Her budget was $50, and she could get whatever she wanted in the store, but it had to be for HER, not for someone else.
She was, understandably, a little startled. She asked for the explanation again and I gave it to her. She stammered about getting something for someone else, and I repeated that it must be for her, and that she deserved a holiday treat!
Like most women, she seemed to be the type who thought of others before herself (again, an overgeneralization, but one I believe to be true). The idea of splurging on herself so close to a holiday really threw her for a loop! I suggested some things – a pillow, a blanket, kitchen ware… But she was too surprised to think! I told her I would look around the store a bit, then find her again and see if she had chosen anything.
So, I strolled a while, then came back to her. She hadn’t chosen anything yet. I explained that we needed to check out, and clarified, “Do YOU want anything??”. She smiled from under her mask and stammered, “Yes! Yes, I do! I just don’t know what…”. She was so sweet. I showed her a really soft pillow with arms I had seen. It was Ugg brand and very nice, and at $49.99 right at budget. She looked it over and said YES, yes, this was the treat for her. It was something a bit extravagant that she was probably not likely to splurge on, and it matched her décor, too.
 |
| The winning item - nice and soft! |
That sealed the deal! We checked out, stapled the gift receipt to her pillow, and put it in her cart so she could finish her shopping. She was a sweet woman and very appreciative.
We tried the experiment again at WalMart but were not as lucky. Very, very few people met the mask requirement, and one who did was on a never-ending phone call (and another that I asked said she was not Christmas shopping).
Which leads us to the here and now. If a stranger approached YOU 2 days before Christmas and gave you a $50 budget to buy a treat for yourself, would you be open enough to accept it? If so, what would your treat be?
Kindness funds spent - $53.24
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