2020…Whoa…am I right?
Inspire Up was launched on April 1st, 2020 – after our absolutely life changing experience leading the Giving Tuesday Military campaign. When we reached 2.5 million people with intentional acts of kindness on December 3rd of 2019, we just knew that our mission couldn’t be limited to just one day each year.
We wanted so much more.
In our quest to figure out what was next, one of our epic and amazing Kindness Warriors messaged us and suggested the hashtag, #GivingAlways and that quickly became our new mantra.
We had found our purpose; Inspire Up was born.
Kindness without boundaries or limits was going to change the world, we were sure of it.
Then, COVID-19 came on the scene. Looking back on this year, my best analysis without getting into the thick of things is that everything is a bit bananas. I so long for last year, when we all had a sense of normalcy and knew exactly what the mission at hand was. This year has been rampant with fear, anxiety, strife, divide and hurt. Suddenly, our call to kindness had an urgency to it – lifting one another and getting back to that deep sense of community.
I find myself searching out pockets of love and light on social media in spite of so much anger/discourse on the general feed. I dive into those happy videos of golden retrievers and Panda Bears so I can smile on my most stressful days. But it is the stories of inspiration, kindness and compassion that bring me back to center – giving me hope that yes, everything will be okay.
A few weeks ago I had breakfast at our local beach. As I was walking to my car, I saw a gentleman playing cornhole in the sand and his shirt caught my eye. The shirt read: “Being Kind is Cool”. I left my car and dug down deep, because how could I have choose to let that sign from the universe pass me by? I quickly introduced myself to my fellow Kindness Warrior and asked if I could take a picture with him. He kindly obliged; and that moment changed my whole day.
It inspired me to go on a Quest for Kindness. What moments of kindness was I missing because I wasn’t truly looking for them? How could I purposefully search out kindness to shape my day and that of others?
On the way home I passed a roadside library, part of Little Free Library nonprofit organization, and turned my truck right around. HARD.
I just had to meet the owner! Yes, at this point my kids most definitely thought I was nuts after my antics at the beach and now this! The woman running this local passion project was just lovely and definitely a spot of inspiration for our community. I hope to share her story with our audience in the next several weeks.
It was incredible to me that in pondering the events of that morning, how changing my mindset allowed these opportunities that I wasn’t expecting to move into the forefront of my day, all because I was intentionally seeking out positivity, light and hope.
Those were the favorite moments of the day, hands down.
If you have followed Inspire Up and watched any of our Facebook lives, you will hear me say “kindness is the currency of love”. It’s one of my favorite sayings. I truly believe it will be the force that heals and unites us all – especially after so much division. One voice in a crowd is lonely, and quiet, but if we join together our voices will sound like a chorus of love.
I desperately want YOUR Voice and I want to hear YOUR stories! Let’s light this world up…together.
Want to help me curb my Golden Retriever and Panda video habit? Ready to fill our social media with inspiration? If you are a kindness warrior, then you are exactly who we have been looking for. If you are interested in writing for our blog, (which will be filled with stories of hope, kindness and community building) click here and email me… right now. Together, we’ll make the world kinder.
Xoxo,
Samantha
