| Last weekend at the airport, I had some extra time before going through security to catch my flight. While wondering what to do, I decided it was the perfect time and place to look for an anonymous act of kindness to do!
One of the magazine stands outside security had flowers for sale. I told the clerk that I’d like to buy flowers for someone else, and she could decide who to give them to. She looked a little confused, so I suggested perhaps she could give them to someone who looked like they could use some cheering up, and then hand them the smile card with the flowers.
At first, the clerk responded, That’s weird." (Or maybe, "That’s crazy," I can’t remember which.) But then, I explained a little more about smile cards and the concept of doing something kind for a complete stranger, and she brightened up.
"I’ll never know how it turns out," I said, "but you will have the opportunity to make someone’s day." At that point, she started to seem genuinely excited about it.
She went to take the flowers out of the water they were sitting in, and I explained, "It’s fine to leave them in there until the person you want to have them comes."
At that point, I think she was somewhere between flabbergasted and delighted, as it was clear this was not a request she had ever gotten from a customer before :).
I paid for the flowers (with cash, to ensure anonymity), said goodbye, and headed for the security line.
I’ll never know how it turned out, but I was on "Cloud 9" for the rest of the morning. 🙂
[Also, as a sidenote: If any of you have suggestions on how to explain smile cards to people who are not familiar with them, I would love to hear them. I feel I could have done a better job of explaining how the smile card works. I think, ultimately, whatever we say will work, if we are connected with our heart when we say it, but having some ideas in mind beforehand would be great! :)]
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