World Kindness Day. It’s a Thing.

A woman from Cincinnati goes to Venice, Italy, where she is immediately impressed with the young gentleman giving a talk at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. He’s from NYC. She says, “I have people you should meet.” Her people, or a person, meets him, and it turns out he is “family” with the previously mentioned person’s former neighbor and friend from Berkeley.

Somehow, within the confines of a 20-minute talk, Italy, Cincinnati, NYC, and Berkeley converged. The world is small, and there is a connection that runs just under the surface. If we dare to speak up, consider, and reach out, perhaps we will find many more similarities than differences.

Today is World Kindness Day. (Note: It is also Mina Morita’s birthday, so it makes sense. Happy Birthday, Mina.) According to Forbes Magazine, the observation was established in 1998 to highlight positive community actions focused on bonds with one another. It was created to bridge distances between differences while encouraging unity and empathy across people and groups. I can’t think of a better time for our world to start focusing on kindness.

As I walk the streets of New York City, I am struck by the posters featuring kidnapped individuals who have been caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Gaza war. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to defend itself from a megalomanic who is ruling over Russia. The government on our domestic soil is at odds on the daily. It is a residual aftereffect of Trump making our country historically more divisive than I’ve seen. People are homeless. Women are fighting for fundamental rights over their bodies and, well, fucking guns. No kindness comes from the argument about guns. But there is perspective. And emotion.

I had the gift of seeing Manny Oliver’s one-man show Guac, on Saturday. The play is titled for his son, Joaquin, who was killed on February 14, 2018, in the Parkland school shooting. Manny starts his performance by asking, “What do you do when you lose a son? You have to do what you do best.” As an artist, he and his wife, Patricia, have turned creativity into a force of activism by creating not only a play but protests and installations that you can’t help but observe.

Midway through his performance, Manny turned on the house lights and asked everyone present to call or text someone they love, reminding the audience that our futures are uncertain. Not one of us knows what tomorrow may bring, and who better to provide this perspective than the parents of a son who lost his life to an assault rifle on a day that represents love. I texted my kids as ugly sobs of tears streamed down my face.

Manny Oliver during his performance of *Guac.*

I knew the Oliver’s story. I had previously interviewed Manny for my podcast. I was not unfamiliar with the particulars, yet sitting two rows back from the stage as Manny relived their nightmare, I felt raw and untethered. As I walked out, Patricia hugged me and explained that it can be a lot to take in. There are no words for me to describe, as a parent, the admiration, awe, and compassion I feel for these incredible people. Through their organization, Change The Ref, they are working for common sense gun laws.

So, on this day of kindness, regardless of where you land politically, I ask, what would you do if you lost a son? Would you do the best you can at whatever you are best at? There have currently been 71 school shootings in the United States this year. Thousands have died due to war, and too many of our fellow humans are struggling daily. I don’t have an answer other than do your best. Consider what if. Text your kid, your friends, your loved one to check-in. We are all interconnected, and the world is far smaller than we realize daily.

Today, I challenge you to perform a random act of kindness for someone. Anyone. And remember, “unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.”

Happy World Kindness Day.
-trw