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.
