Amazon Kindness

Here’s the thing; I believe that people really WANT to be kind.

I think it is an inherent thing, maybe baked into our DNA.

We want to be kind.  But sometimes, we don’t know how.  We don’t see the opportunities.  We feel there is nothing WE can do.  We are too busy, too tired, too overworked, too OVERWHELMED with life to seek out ways to be kind.

But when presented with opportunity, many, many people jump at the chance to be kind. And that fact warms my heart and keeps my work as a Kindness Activist going.

Case in point: over the last 18 or so months I have been working on the skill of delegating.  This is a tough one for me.  I have always unconsciously been of the “the only way to do it right is to do it myself” mentality, but I’ve been working to unravel that thread in my head.  One way I have done that is by outright asking for volunteers. 

That is hard to do…  It is admitting you need help.  Admitting that you CAN’T do it all yourself.

But in the ASKING, you are also OFFERING.  You are offering an opportunity for others to be kind!  And that might be just what they are looking for!!!

This week I asked for help laminating a big pile of signs (signs that I had previously asked for help making and a lovely neighbor took on the task!).  A volunteer popped up right away for laminating – she came and picked up the signs and returned them perfect and lovely - all laminated - the very next day!  I also asked for help breaking down a big donation of rice into smaller sealed packets for the pantry.  Several people volunteered for that task and a mom and her son came over and did it. 

See, people want to be kind.  Kindness can be a gift of support, of help, of time.  I am going to keep trying to improve my skill of offering those opportunities to be kind to the world.

I was fortunate to witness a great act of kindness today!!  You may have seen me mention the Amazon man who bid in the online Kindness Auction.  If you haven’t heard of him, here is the story in a nutshell (then the act of kindness after I catch everyone up on who he is!):

We are hosting a huge community-wide yard sale October 14 and 15.  It is a fundraiser for Kindness Activist, an organization whose mission is simple – SPREAD KINDNESS.  Many, many people in the community donate items to be sold at the fundraiser and shoppers pay what they wish, with the understanding that all money raised will be used for kind acts.

The yard sale was supposed to be in September but got postponed due to rain.  That postponement means another month of our porch being full of boxes and donations.  Another month of having to put ropes up in front of the porch to “subtly” tell passersby that even though it may look like our porch is a yard sale, it is not open yet.

We get a lot of Amazon deliveries because kind people all over the country order from our Amazon wish list and send items to fill the Little Free Pantry outside our home.  So, it is not unusual for Amazon delivery drivers to be on our porch. 

But recently an unlikely interaction with an “Amazon man” happened.  The doorbell rang and my partner David answered.  An Amazon man was standing on the porch and had peered through the front door and spied a Messe Football/Soccer jersey hanging in our dining room.

“I want to buy that!” he told David.  David explained to him the sale was not on yet, and that the jersey in question was not for sale, but it was up for auction in an online auction.  He told him how it all worked and the man gave David his phone number so that we could send him the auction link.

We texted back and forth with him a couple of times, but he never bid.  I thought maybe he lost interest, but then he called us.  He needed help figuring out the system of the auction, so we walked him through it. 

As he was registering, he told us that he had played soccer his whole life and Messi is his favorite player.  He really “needed” that jersey!  He was so excited at the possibility of getting it!

When he finally got into the auction he placed his bid - $14.  Then he quickly placed a second bid - $15.  “You just outbid yourself!” I explained, laughing.  “I know!  But I WANT THAT JERSEY!  I am going to put $20!!” he exclaimed as he upped his bid again.

“Ohhh, there are MORE THINGS in the auction!!” he said.  He started to scroll as we talked and expressed interest in some jewelry.  “I am from Ethiopia, and I am going home soon to get married.  This jewelry would be very nice for my fiancé!”.

We enjoyed chatting with him a bit, then wished him a good night.  The concept of an auction seemed new to him, so David reminded him to keep an eye out for messages to see if he got outbid and needed to bid again (though secretly David told me he was going to keep bidding for the Amazon man if someone outbid him, because we were squarely in the TEAM AMAZON MAN corner by that point!).

The auction ended – Amazon man was the winner of the jersey.  We were really psyched for him.  When we woke up the next morning we found a text that had popped in at 1:48 am.  It was from him and simply read, “Halleluiah”. 

Now, here comes the first act of kindness in this story (well, really it’s the second, because the jersey itself was donated by a kind person!).  Anyway, another bidder, a friend, had seen my mention of the Amazon man in a post.  She contacted me and said, “If it was the Amazon driver who won the jersey for $20, I would like to pay for it”.

Isn’t that so sweet and KIND???

We didn’t tell the Amazon man that someone was treating him until he showed up this morning to pick up his jersey.  I brought it out to him, and he had the biggest smile!  “It is REAL!  It is FIFA!” he exclaimed.  I showed him that it was brand new, and he held it up proudly.  As David snapped this photo of him, the driver of a passing car honked and said, “Hey, I want one, too!” and we all laughed.

Then I told him the news that someone else had already paid for him.  He was stunned!  I explained that the auction was raising money to be used to spread kindness, and someone had given him an act of kindness by covering his cost.  He couldn’t believe it and was so thankful.

We talked a bit.  He showed us photos of his beautiful fiancé, who he will bring to America from Ethiopia this November. 

And before he left to start work for the day, he said, “May I still donate the $20??”.  I told him he did not need to, that his purchase was paid for already.  But he wanted to.  He wanted to help spread kindness, too!

So, this sweet man, this man who works very hard for a living driving and hauling heavy boxes, this man who is probably saving money to pay for his fiancé’s airline ticket and wedding expenses, reached into his pocket and donated $20.

And if that isn’t kind, I don’t know what is.