Random Acts of Kindness for A New World Order

Do you believe in magic?

I do and I’m glad that I do, as I see evidence of ‘magic’ (read ’synchronicity by Divine intervention’) everywhere I go and look.

Today, I am completely rewriting my Reiki Empowerment Manual and it has taken up most of my day. Meanwhile, it is my intend to write more often (daily?) on this blog, so I need a quick and easy story to write for this evening. Then, ‘by pure chance’, I came across the perfect topic for an article today: random acts of kindness.

I was reminded of a situation in my business consulting years. Around the corner from the office, was the Hermes shop. Anybody who has heard of that brand, knows that whatever they have in there is both gorgeous and outrageously expensive. One Saturday, after having worked yet again an entire day overtime in the office, I decided it was time for a treat. When you work that hard, you deserve some pleasure, right?!

So, I went in the (ah-wow) Hermes store and asked the young lady behind the counter which ones were her favorite earrings. I figured this would be a good start looking for my personal extravaganza.

Well, the question changed her entire face and demeanor. She knew the answer. Walking straight to a particular drawer, she picked out a particular pair. Then she went on to tell me why these were the most gorgeous earrings in the shop. I was struck by the purity of her enthusiasm. She meant it, she absolutely adored these earrings, and could not stop talking about them.

She was right! They were beautiful, so I bought the earrings, these little over-the-top luxury indulgences. This was a huge treat!! To top it all of, I asked her to wrap them the best that she could as they were a present. She did and the present looked immaculate as she handed it to me. I smiled, said ‘Thank you’.

Then, gave it back to her.

I can’t remember the earrings, but I can remember her astonished and delighted reaction. Years later, when I had my own consulting practice, a client relayed me the story, now from the other side. When he confirmed that indeed it had been me in that Hermes store, he shared that the young girl in the shop had been his niece. I can’t recall all details, but her ‘lucky Saturday’ event seemed to have impacted her enough to decipher my name from my credit card bill and inspire her entire family with the story.

All I hoped for was her happy heart, but am thankful for her sharing. Because this is how random acts of kindness multiply.

What’s Your Story

I know this was no big deal compared to the random act of kindness that you either experienced or generously conducted in your life. Tell me your stories. What happened and how did it impact you? By sharing all our stories, we multiply generosity. Thank you for sharing, in advance.

btw

What sparked this article is

“Peace Begins with One Person” by Ivory Harlow, in This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women.
This book opens with a formidable challenge: ‘What would you say in 500 words to capture a core principle that guides your life?’ Before you try to answer that question, you might want to read some of the 75 beautiful essays collected in the book.

‘Peace begins with one person’ for sure was thought-provoking, and let me to share a very personal story with you that I haven’t really talked much about until today. I am sharing it because I realize now that stories like this remind us that there is both a delightful, innocent child and a good-hearted person residing in every soul on the planet.