#spread light
My most recent random act of beauty happened not too long ago in Indonesia. I was walking down the street when I saw a mother and her young child, about 4 years old or so, sitting on the sidewalk. They were disheveled and barefoot and unlike the other women who dotted the sidewalk, I noticed that this woman was not asking for money. She was just sitting there, looking weak and dazed. As I studied her and her child, something else caught my eye: there were several drawings around them on the sidewalk, indecipherable, fascinating little designs made in some crude, black medium. I asked the woman who had drawn them, and she pointed to her tiny child. My immediate thought was to head to an art store I knew of not too far away and there, for less than a dollar, I purchased a box of 20 pieces of colourful chalk. I returned to the mother and child, drew a pink chalk heart on the sidewalk in front of the little boy, placed the box of chalk at his feet and continued on my way.
Later that day I passed by the area again and they were gone. There were no chalk drawings on the sidewalk and I wondered if I had stupidly given them chalk when I could have offered them something that would have benefitted them far more.
But when I happened by the same spot again the next day, the area where they sat was filled with the most detailed and symmetrical designs. I was in awe that this young child could express himself in such an intricate way. Amongst the linear designs I also saw drawings of round, soft flowers and when I asked her who had drawn those, she again pointed to her young son. I gushed excitedly as I applauded his talent and he shyly buried his face in his mother’s arm. I bought some food for them and left. I searched for them every day after that for the remainder of my stay but I didn’t see the boy, his mother, or any more of his drawings again.
I wonder how many great talents, geniuses and potential innovators there are in this world, whose potential never has the chance to bloom due to where they were born and the poverty they were born in to. Are you making the most of your blessings? #500randomactsofbeauty
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In the frigid Toronto winter of 2013, I purchased a blanket with the intention of donating it to someone living on the streets. Before finding an individual to give it to, my friends and I rode the trains several times over the course of a couple of weeks, approaching as many strangers as possible, telling them what we were doing, and inviting them to write positive, encouraging messages on it. On certain days it was so cold that it took a lot to convince myself to make the journey from where I was living in Mississauga, which meant walking twenty minutes to the bus stop, waiting for the bus in the cold, and then taking the train down from Kipling, all while lugging this hefty duvet. And then there was the awkwardness of approaching strangers and making sure to keep our energy up despite the rejection we often faced. But I’m so glad I saw it through, and so grateful for my friends like @freemase@alimamaaand@assayaheals who helped out, because this ended up being one of my favorite random acts of beauty. What made it so amazing to me was that not only did we feel really good doing it, but every stranger who agreed to be part of it was clearly touched by the idea as well, so a lot of good vibes were spread during this process. At the end of each day my friends and I were just about floating with joy. By the time we donated the blanket there was no more room to write on it and not only was it covered with positive words but it was infused with a lot of positive energy as well.
In hindsight I definitely should have called this random act of beauty The Comforter
It was 2011 and I’d decided to start a humanitarian street art project called 500 random acts of beauty to add a bit of unexpected love and kindness to everyday life. I worked on the first several acts without telling anyone in my life what I was doing. For the 3rd random act of beauty, I went to the library and found a book about being bullied at school. I wrote an anonymous letter of encouragement to a child who might choose that book because they were being bullied and stuck the letter inside the pages of the book, hoping they’d come across it. For the 2nd random act of beauty I wrote a poem and hung it on the bare walls of a long corridor in an office building, and for the 5th random act of beauty I took some of my photographic prints and hung them inside the stalls of a public bathroom―both of these acts were executed to add art to mundane and unexpected places.
The 7th random act of beauty was the first one that required me to actually approach a stranger, which was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. I wrote a thank you note to a custodian at a nearby strip mall that said, “You’re doing a great job. Lunch is on me today,” and stuck a $20 bill inside of it. I asked my sister to film from a distance and after several moments of hesitation I finally gathered the courage to approach her. I went up to her, smiled as I handed her the envelope, and then walked away as quickly as I could. When I watched the footage my sister had captured, I saw the woman open the card, read it, and then wipe tears from her eyes.
After I’d completed a handful of these acts, I decided to share the project online, with the hope of inspiring others to do their own random acts of kindness. Right before I posted it I felt a bit of anxiety, second guessing myself and thinking that maybe people would find this idea stupid. I went ahead with my decision to post it despite the fear I was feeling, and in the split second before I pressed “post” to share the announcement on Facebook, I heard a voice of guidance, of knowing, speak to me for the first time in my life. It said, “ , .” I pressed the button.
Pictured here is the 4th random act of beauty which is admittedly rudimentary in appearance, part of why I felt shy about the project, but even in this moment years later, I can say that if I came across something like this as I was about to cross the street, it would bring a smile to my face. A reminder that things don’t have to be perfect or cost a lot of money in order to make an impact.
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