The Gift of Shared Kindness.
Acknowledging those who go above and beyond.
I love the story of Gail Boenning and Manu Satsangi, who got to know each other through an online creative workshop.
While neither of them grew up thinking of themselves as especially creative, over time each began listening to the quiet voice inside that told them they did have ideas and gifts worth sharing.
Realising that they worked well together, Gail and Manu began actively looking for projects they could collaborate on.
One of these was inspired by a creative Christmas gift Gail made for her father a few years ago. She had given him a card and inside were three small envelopes with different denominations of cash sealed inside.
As she explained to her father (and later to me when we spoke for Studio Time), these envelopes are for you to give to the people around you who go above and beyond what’s expected of them. It’s a gesture of recognition and a way to thank people for the good work they're doing.
Gail’s father gave them to the service staff when he went out for meals and they provided an opportunity for conversation and connection that brought him a lot of pleasure. The beauty of this gift is that the more you give it away, the more valuable it becomes.
Together, she and Manu worked on producing a professional version of this homemade gift, and The Gift of Shared Kindness is now available for purchase on Etsy.
You can learn more about their collaborative partnership on Ep 54 of the Studio Time podcast.
One of my favourite takeaways from the episode:
“(It’s so much better to) have a collaborator who is my co-cheerleader, who offers different perspectives and just helps the project rolling along. I’m not as likely to get stuck in resistance.”
Even just having one other person on your team can make the difference between feeling stuck and taking small but consistent steps forward.
So two things to think about today:
Who could you collaborate with to move your dream project forward?
Who do you know that deserves some acknowledgement and appreciation for going above and beyond?
Glad to read this write-up, Matthew. And thanks a lot for writing about us so well! Yes, indeed that line about the benefits of collaboration is so very true. We both help each other inch further!
Matthew! I danced around my kitchen after reading this...because I want others to experience what I have found—LIFE’S BIGGEST JOYS LIE IN GIVING TO AND AND CONNECTING WITH EACH OTHER! ❤️ Thank you for sharing our story here...and by our...I mean you, me, Manu, your readers and everyone your readers share the story with.