Testing Human Kindness

I’ve always been intrigued by homeless people. I take notice of the faces I see frequently, and I’m stumped about what can actually be done to fix the problem.

When I first moved to San Francisco, it was disturbing to see the amount of people living on the streets. You can’t possibly give money to each person you encounter, even if you wanted to.

I became fascinated with their creativity and the signs they hold up. There’s one man who stands on Octavia Street practically every morning on my commute to the office. He holds a sign that says, “Testing Human Kindness.”

I’ve thought about this sign a lot. For one, I don’t think you can test kindness in the way he’s trying to.

However, I really like the emphasis on kindness. Every time I see the sign, it’s a reminder to be kinder. I am a firm believer that we could all show more kindness each day to those around us. We all face battles that we don’t share with others.

All it takes is one person to change someone else’s day. It’s happened to me many times when I’ve had a bad day – a person who stopped to run with me and cheer me on during a marathon sensing that I was struggling; a random hello text from a friend on a particularly challenging day; a coworker saying “let’s go for a walk” knowing that I’m working on a tough project.

At work or at home, you can create a special moment for someone else by simply being in tune with others and being kind. A benevolent culture is very healthy and will likely have a chain reaction beyond you, impacting even more people.

So today, I want to test our human kindness – be that person for someone today!

Until next time…we are Advoco, make every minute count.

About Mary: Mary Devine is our Director of Marketing and Events. Affectionately referred to as “Make it Happen Mary,” she's been around since the early days of Advoco—making things happen! Whether it's planning exciting surprises for Connect attendees or spearheading new marketing initiatives, we're so happy to have Mary on our team. If you have a question for Mary, please send her an email.