To be the $20 bill found in a winter jacket pulled out of storage.
I hate rum. Yet, the first thing that comes to mind when I hear Kindness is a bottle of rum. A Christmas gift left on my desk by a reserved coworker whom I rarely interact with.
My roommate at the time drank the entire bottle. I continued to rarely interact with Joycelyn. And yet, I think about that episode all the time.
It takes little effort to make somebody's day. The more effort, the better. But a little effort will do.
People don't expect to be noticed.
Others take advantage of this. They make a point to remember names. Always come bearing gifts. Finding out what makes others tick. Not to undermine those types--it does require effort. Probably less effort than if you were wired as an introvert, but a real effort. These people are well-liked, as they should be. Unless they are being manipulative, which typically can be easily sussed out.
Once I interviewed one hundred songwriters. Ultimately, this led to a collaboration where we created an album. A bunch of strangers covered other strangers' songs and had one of their own covered. It warmed my heart talking to people enthusiastic about something they created. Something they likely didn't expect others to notice.
Including strangers on a project I was working on was tough. All of the doubt and resistance is multiplied when manifesting what could be a dumb idea with the help of others. In theory, creating and interacting with others is exciting, however, face to face interactions with actual humans is typically messy and awkward.
This silly project taught me the importance of agency. We have the agency to bring the joy of the unexpected into the world. We have the agency to bring kindness into the world.
What if you could be the $20 somebody finds in their winter jacket today?