Reflection #4 – Human Sparkles

“I believe that there is a sparkle of sorts that can pass between people in even the most fleeting of encounters, a smile on the bus, a friendly nod to someone passing on the sidewalk, a little bit of good energy charging both of our days.” -Former Class Member

The above comment, shared by a class participant two years ago in response to this week’s theme, gets at the heart of the theme so well that I decided to share it here. The writer talks about an energy that is created any time two people come together. She refers to this as “a sparkle of sorts,” a phrase that I think sums up this energy perfectly.

I think it’s our job to mindfully responded to these sparkles, doing what might be described as blowing on them to help them increase in scope, fanning the kindness flame, if you will. And what we get back is connecting with other people on a truly human level, people sharing personal stories with us. This is how the world is set up to work. And living this way, connecting with others this way, is so gratifying.

I think it is our most natural state.

This week, “Working on Happy” wrote in response to many of you sharing your experiences, saying, “These are so fun to hear about. I love the variety of ways we came up with to be kind to our acquaintances. It makes me think of other ways I might bring a smile to my children’s teachers, the school bus driver, etc. Chain reaction, indeed!”

Chain reaction, fanning the kindness flame, human sparkles…