Kindness goes a long way

A teenage girl entered a Starbucks and ordered a coffee. To go. Her face glooms with misery. The barista notices, and writes something on her plastic cup. She didn´t notice until after she´d left.

It saved her life.

When Charles Dickens said, "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another," he was emphasizing the inherent value of kindness and compassion.

Every person, no matter their circumstances or abilities, can make a meaningful contribution by helping others.

Even if you´re broke.

Even if you´re sad, or lonely.

Small acts of kindness, such as offering support or comfort, or even a smile, can give someone purpose and make a positive impact much more powerful than what you could imagine.

While the teenager placed her order at that Starbucks, the barista didn´t know she was feeling more miserable than he could imagine.

He didn´t know she suffered from anorexia and depression.

He didn´t know that she had tried taking her life 4 times.

He didn´t know that she had decided to finally take her own life, this time for real, on that day.

The barista, seeing such a profound expression of sadness on her face, simply wrote: “smile!” on her plastic cup.

The girl saw that simple yet powerful message on her cup later on, and for some reason, it deeply touched her. A total stranger had noticed she was in pain and wished for her to smile. He changed her mind without even knowing what was going through it.

At a later time, she wrote a letter to the barista expressing her gratefulness. He had saved her life.

Dickens' belief in the power of generosity and the idea that everyone has the potential to do good is well reflected in this and many stories that happen every single day.

Who knows, you might make a difference in a person’s life. Or perhaps, you might already have…

Have a nice day,

Claudio.