I printed flyers that said “May you have a wonderful day! This is a random act of kindness.” They had hearts on them and a nice pattern (very feel-good). I put them under the wipers on some cars.
When the deed was done, I started wondering if people would toss them on the ground and then I would be contributing to littering. Or, I thought they might throw them away and not recycle them. Because my intentions are pure (or that is what I strive for), it bothers me more that the repercussions of my deeds might not be completely without adverse results. I think I need to meditate a bit more and just chillax, as the kids say. I need to trust in the force of kindness.
“Drop-and-runs” are anonymous by nature. But, I like to think about how people react when they receive the kindness. I imagine today, people will notice the flyer and get a little annoyed at first, as people tend to do when something is left on their car. I purposefully did not leave it on cars at meters because I didn’t want them to think it was a ticket.
Some people, I imagine, would see it and look immediately for what it was advertising. I didn’t put anything else, even my website on there. In fact, I felt the need to write “This is a random act of kindness” so as not to confuse people. So, then they might look at it like it had some hidden camera woven in the paper or look around for a TV crew taping their reaction. They wouldn’t see any of that, still be skeptical and toss it.
However, I imagined that most of the people would see the flyers and it would put a smile on their face. Maybe some would take them and tack them up at work or show them to others and put smiles on other’s faces.
As I drove away from one parking lot, I thought I saw a lady in my rearview mirror pick up her flyer and stop for a moment looking at it. I didn’t see what happened next.
Maybe for my next “drop-and-run” I will hide in the bushes to see people’s reactions. Maybe I’ll drop in on someone I know like a co-worker and see if they say anything.
