Find The Kindnesses

During a mommy-daughter outing this morning, we took a stroll down Kirkwood (a local business street).

There was a gentleman down the way calling out, "free pirate flags!".

As we passed, we had to stop. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I mean - come on, it was a PIRATE FLAG.

He immediately started asking my daughter which one she wanted, giving her choices galore, including her pick of the bamboo stick. (He'd spray painted many different colors of paint on different fabrics of different sizes.) He wouldn't take the dollar I'd given to her to pass along - instead, kept explaining about the flags and showing her how to put the flag on the bamboo.

As we talked, I learned that he (Alex) owned a gallery upstairs ( Pearl & Mable's), and loved to offer free art / art projects on the weekends as a way to give back. I became more and more enamored with his entire mission and his positive energy. We eventually left the dollar (to contribute to further art supply purchases...I wish I could leave more to let him do this all the time!) and with an even more positive mood than the one with which we'd arrived.

For the next hour after lunch and during our return trip, my daughter kept talking about the flag.

She talked about the ship she was going to build for it, how she was going to build it, and we tried to figure out her pirate name. She kept getting a huge smile each time someone noticed or commented on the flag. It made her - and my - day.

This is just a little story to remind you:

Pay attention to the kindnesses that are being offered in the world.

There are more than you might think.

Namaste