Oct 31, 2011 by Sami
Sunday night was spent watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s since “people don’t belong to people” kept popping in my thoughts. As I’m watching it and checking my twitter feed (because we can’t do one thing only, anymore) something came up. I saw a tweet that said “this is so cool #thekindnesscab & Leon Logothetis will be in Chicago tomorrow.” I’m paraphrasing here and I wish I remembered who tweeted it (UPDATE: It was @CristerDelacruz that tweeted it! Oh Twitter, how do I love thee!). Did some digging and found http://www.kindnesscab.com/. It might have taken me about 40 seconds to decide to call Leon and leave a message with my number in it. I didn’t know why or what I would get out of this experience but I knew I wanted to try it. Leon called me 15 minutes later and we confirmed the pick up time and location. I went to bed excited but still unsure of how things will go the next day.
The Kindness Cab in Chicago!
18 hours since I spoke to Leon pass. Almost six pm and I do some Google action and find out that Leon wrote a book called Amazing Adventures of a Nobody and I make a mental note to check it out later because he just sent me a text that he’s downstairs.
On my way to The Kindness Cab an epiphany of sorts struck me. This is exactly like that movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. If my memory serves me right, the action of that girl not picking up the phone (or was it the alarm?) triggered a sequence of events that lead to a disaster. Only this is the opposite. Leon picking me up out of the kindness of his heart triggered my happiness which will trigger a series of events, starting by me making another person happy. Like dominoes helping each other up instead of pushing down. Wow, is this how we can achieve world peace?
So I get in enthusiastically after taking a picture of The Kindness Cab and saying hi to Leon. He greets me back and says “pick up one of those books in backs, it’s for you”. I cannot believe it! It’s a copy of Amazing Adventures of a Nobody. My eyes immediately start to sparkle like those cartoon characters.
After 15 minutes of what words might have trouble describing, I walked away after meeting an amazing man, another kind man one from the Kind Village, a Halloween lollipop, a copy of the Amazing Adventures of a Nobody (that I’m so excited to start reading), a receipt that showed $45 dollar being donated to charity from Leon and inspiring conversations about traveling. I left my company wishing it was longer but even more, wishing Leon and #theKindnessCab all the best in the future. I left them with so much admiration with what Leon is trying to accomplish. I left them with so much inspiration.
Then I arrived home. I arrived home and found a package from a friend. It was a Daruma Doll from Japan. A hollow, round doll. These dolls are more than toys, Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement. And happiness overcomes me on top of the inspiration and the admiration.
Not a bad Monday. In fact, one of the best I’ve ever had.
Just like anything else, kindness starts with you.
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