The Ripple Effects of Seeing People
My 10-year-old shares her tokens of appreciation
This is my daughter. She’s 10 and, like her Mama, loves making little tokens of appreciation. Together, we’ve handed out thousands over the past seven years.
Today, at a doctor’s appointment, she offered a token to the medical assistant and the pediatrician, not as a formality, but as a moment of pause … a moment of recognition.
She got air hugs in return.
Later, over breakfast at our local diner, she made more. Sal, pictured here, was one of the recipients. His eyes welled up as he held the little handpainted token in his hands.
“I've been working for 25 years,” he said, “25 years! And this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you. I will keep this forever.”
It wasn’t the token itself that moved him … it was being truly seen. He asked her if she painted the flowers and told her he was touched by what she wrote on the back.
I asked if I could capture the moment and he said “It would be an honor!” And then he pulled up his sleeve and said, “Look, I have goosebumps!”
I had them, too.
What we do is such a simple thing—anyone can do it! But how often do we make the time?
We move through the world on autopilot … checking out at stores, ordering meals, exchanging pleasantries without noticing the person before us
What if we slowed down just enough to truly connect? To transform routine interactions into meaningful moments?
Not out of obligation. Not as a transaction.
But because being human with each other is what lingers long after the moment has passed.