After reading my book, a friend wrote me a beautiful handwritten note and said I had raised her “kindness consciousness.” I love that phrase. I looked up the definition of consciousness and it means “the state of being aware of and responsive to one’s surroundings.” What if we all tried to raise our kindness consciousness and set out each day with a willingness and an openness to be kind for no reason. When we become “aware of and responsive” to our surroundings, I promise you, there will be countless opportunities presented to you each day to practice kindness for no reason other than you can…and, it feels nourishing and energizing.

I watched an Instagram video on repeat the other day that made me smile and cry on repeat. A woman working part time at Starbucks said “this morning, I was loud and proud and peppy”. A customer came into the shop and the barista could tell she was kind of struggling. She decided “a little extra pep in our step is needed. We need to get her smiling.” Well, she obviously made this customer feel seen because she left a beautiful note of appreciation and a $200 check for the barista with her manager.

Sergio Florian was going for a run up a mountain on one of the most dangerous trails on the island of Oahu in Hawaii with sheer cliffs and drop offs in all directions. Rounding a bend on the narrow path with a 1000ft drop off to the right, he was surprised to find, curled up in the middle of the path, a 45 pound, dehydrated and scared dog, all by himself, lost and shivering……

 People often share stories with me about how kind their mail carrier is.  In each and every story I hear, the mail carrier always goes above and beyond their job description.  That tends to be the common denominator in kindness stories – someone has made the proactive choice to go above and beyond.  That’s what makes a moment memorable.  I think the reason so many beautiful stories of connection happen with mail carriers is because they are a constant in our lives.  They are predictable and reliable.  They show up every day despite the weather.  They see us and we see them. Connection is there for the taking….if we make the time.  

I invite all of you to dream big and then act on it! Buckle your fear into the back seat and go on a wild ride through the jungle of discomfort. It’s exhilarating to check the box on something you have always wanted to do but thought you were too old, not interesting enough, not smart enough, etc, etc……

I spent yesterday as a spectator at the New York City Marathon cheering on our son-in-law and 50,000 other inspiring people who made the proactive choice to run 26.2 miles.  I was swept up in the most incredible wave of collective encouragement, camaraderie and outpouring of upbeat energy. 

A friend sent me a Reel of the most joyous, spontaneous, double dip of kindness that I watched at least 10 times.  The reason it resonated so much with me is that both of the people involved with these acts of kindness seemed to react by gut instinct.  Here’s what happened…

We spend so much of our time in our heads, and we forget to tap into our resident advisors, our heart and our gut. Our head ruminates, our heart releases and our gut teaches. Our head doesn’t have to run the show. It’s OK to let go of “Overthink” and take a trust fall into your heart.

Don’t settle for bland, fine, boring anymore.  Make your life zestier!  Try something new and see how you feel.  Then share that experience with someone.  It’s the mixture of flavors and spices that makes a recipe so delicious.  I want to encourage you to open up to the people around you and start to create an outrageously delicious recipe for life. 

I want to offer you the dialed down version of a bucket list and have you consider what do you want to accomplish, experience, create today that would feel exciting, productive, invigorating or just simply….gets you out of bed!