[This blog originally appeared August, 2016, and has been updated with additional content.]

We recently spent time in the company of two friends, each of whom is going through some hardship. Janet has a friend who is on hard times financially.  They met for lunch, and Janet made a gesture of kindness by offering her friend a check for a modest amount to help with the week’s expenses. We know we couldn’t solve the friend’s problems, but maybe we could give her some hope.Later the same day, we went to a fundraiser event for a family whose daughter is battling severe illness. The turnout was amazing! I spoke to my friend, the father of the girl who is ill, and asked how things were going. He said the community support for his daughter and family has been overwhelming, and thanked me for coming to the fundraiser, even though we’ve been out of touch for a while. We shared a couple stories of parenting a child through severe illness, as that was now something we had in common.

There's a lot of sadness that we all are dealing with right now: destruction of the environment, systemic oppression of black people, a fragile economy that only serves the very rich, a pandemic with no end in sight, and corruption in our government. We can't just snap our fingers and make all that go away.

There is no shortage of opportunity to be kind to someone. It doesn’t take a huge effort, so go out and help someone be happy today! This image reminds me to do just that, I hope it inspires you the same way.