Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
- Leo Buscaglia


Saturday, December 29, 2012

Dunkin' Donuts and Symmetry

     Nearly one year ago, on December 31st, I wrote a blog post entitled "Wrong Place, Wrong Time."  It was the story of me trying to give away a Starbucks gift card on Main Street in Moorestown and ultimately realizing that if I wanted to do something nice for someone who didn't look exactly like me, I should go to the other end of town where there's a Dunkin' Donuts and a laundromat.  I ended up buying a gift card from Dunkin' Donuts and finding someone at the laundromat to give it to.  
     As I now approach the last few days of my "year of kindness," it feels right to go back to a few of the things I did to start the year.  I figure it creates a certain sense of symmetry for the year.  So that's what I did today.
     I went back to that same Dunkin' Donuts and bought a $5 gift card.  Then I went to the other end of the shopping center, walked into the laundromat, and chose a customer who looked like they might appreciate a nice surprise.  I walked up to a woman and asked her if she liked Dunkin' Donuts coffee.  When she said that she did, I offered her the gift card.  She was both surprised and pleased and thanked me multiple times.
     I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it wasn't until I got back into my car to drive home that I remembered that I had once again missed an opportunity to suggest that the woman "pay it forward" by doing something nice for someone else.  I've definitely gotten better about that throughout the year, but alas, I still sometimes forget.  

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