Loud, Proud & Peppy!
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, 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. The note said this customer traveled a lot for work and she had been in this community for 2 days. She wrote “you’re the first person I have encountered who has been genuinely kind to me. You deserve to know you made a difference in someone’s life today just by being kind. Do good in this world and it will always come back to you. Do something kind for yourself today.” The barista shared through her tears she had lost her mother recently and this was going to be her first Mother’s Day without her mom. She had been saving up to buy an urn to bring her mother home with her. The customer’s gift now will allow her to “to spend Mother’s Day with my mom”.
Maria Shriver says so eloquently “You can’t outsource connection to another human being. You can’t outsource a deeply meaningful life. All of these things require our time, our attention, and our input – not from AI, but from our brains and our hearts.”
Stop scrolling and start strolling. We need to put down our phones, get out of our chairs and connect with one another face to face. Not on a video screen, but in person. No advanced technology can replace the look of understanding on someone’s face when eye contact and active listening have been applied or the feel of a hug that radiates deep into your soul letting you know you’re not alone.
Think back to times in your life when you have been authentically kind or been the lucky recipient of unexpected kindness. I bet you can remember details of that encounter because the feeling generated is literally priceless. It’s a warm and nourishing memory that doesn’t dim with time like some many other moments in our past. It’s imprinted in your mind and emblazoned on your heart because it’s what we are meant to do – be in community with one another. That’s when we thrive.
I can remember in vivid detail the afternoon I supported my friend who had lost her father the day before. I called her and asked if I could come over and give her a hug. She said, “I’m staying in my pajamas all day and might not be good company, but you can come over if you want.” It was noon but I undressed and put my pajamas, slippers and bathrobe back on. I drove to Dunkin Donuts walked in to the store outfitted in my fluffy slippers and robe and ordered a dozen doughnuts. When she answered the door and saw what I was wearing she just started crying and I will always remember that hug. I asked her to share stories of her father with me and we sat on her couch for a few hours and I listened. In between bites of Boston Crème deliciousness, we connected in a deeply meaningful way.
Technology does not have the gift of intuition. It’s our humanity, our gut instinct, that allows us to “read the room” and become aware of what those around us may need, what we can offer and what we too can receive. Like the barista, maybe it’s interacting with an enthusiastic loud, proud and peppy energy or maybe it’s simply saying through your actions “I see you”. Quite possibly, it’s just sitting in silence with someone or being an active listener. It feels just as good to be the bearer of kindness as it does to be the recipient.
Each one of us is magnificent, beautiful and endlessly powerful. As Marianne Williamson says “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission do the same.” Let’s all help someone be seen today and light up our magnificent humanity!
