Hello you wonderful people! I wanted to share a project I had in mind.
It’s simply creating and giving random strangers a business card that says “You are Wonderful” as a reminder for themselves. I already have a design in my head, but wanted to hear your opinions, design ideas, and anything and everything else you have to say on this.
My life goal is to help make the world a better place and this is one small and insignificant step that will hopefully put a smile on someone’s face. Thank you for your input.
That’s a nice thought, but personally, I’m not a big fan of creating unnecessary waste - even if it’s recyclable. After all, it takes a lot of water to recycle paper/cardboard, and for such a small piece of cardboard, it’s more than likely that it’ll just end up in the landfill instead of even being recycled.
Personally, I think just wishing or greeting someone can achieve the same thing and still make a big difference. When I moved here, people used to wish me “good morning” if I crossed paths with them during a morning jog, and that was such a huge mood booster for me (back where I lived previously, people would just ignore or even completely avoid you if they saw you across the street). I also make it a point to greet and thank my bus driver every time I catch the bus, which can be a very thankless job, and I’d like to believe it helps.
Maybe if you want to do something more visual/physical, you could perhaps give them a high-five or a hug? Like hold up a sign saying “FREE HUGS”… although I’m not sure if there would be many takers in this post-covid world. If you want to so something more impactful, I’d recommend checking out some of Improv Everywhere’s videos. Maybe even get in touch with them, to see if there are any agents where you live, and then you guys could organize something big.
You bring up a good point. Thank you for that. I also didn’t know that a simple comment could have such an effect. Nonetheless, I still feel like having something tangible would still be nice, so I’ll be sure to use biodegradable business cards. Thank you.
You can buy card stock that has local wildflower seeds embedded in it. The idea is when the person is done with the card, they plant the whole thing so the card decomposes and the seeds sprout.
I love it! Bear in mind that depending how you distribute them, not everyone will appear appreciative of the cards. Some will not think much of it at all. That’s okay, if you can at least brighten one person’s mood and have them believe a little more in their self-worth and that random kindness exists, is something good you are doing for the world.
Most paper is degradable anyway you can look for more eco-conscious card-stock if you want, but it’s not as important as the act of giving it out itself, for me at least.
I think the world needs something like that right now, there is a lot of division and angst right now in society. We are divided a new way about every other week it seems like.
It used to not matter so much because we weren’t connected so instantly with 24 hour news and the internet, but now it seems like everyone’s differences are front and center.
Letting everyone know that we are all human and all have so much in common despite what differences we may have might just make someone’s day. And it could spread to more and more people on its own.
You could just save the world!
I’ve been wanting to do this ever since someone gave me one that said “You make a difference.” I treasured that card for years.
I don’t even remember what I did to help her at this point, it was something that seemed minor at the time, but she thanked me and gave me the card.
Do it! It can have quite an impact!
A lovely thought. Might not be effective in big city centres though, when I was living in London people were always trying to hand you things. You get resistant very quickly.
Not a reason not to do it, just try not to take it personally if you get rebuffed.
Also I love the wildflower card idea someone else mentioned
i share a similar goal, and i think it’s nice that you want to spend your time and brain energy to brighten up random strangers’ days.
for myself, i value fairness and equality. i also try to acknowledge the individual, the human inside, as much as i can. i can’t bring myself to make general statements like “you are wonderful” and “you are loved”, even if it’s true. if i were to imagine myself doing what you are planning to do, i cannot hand these cards to a neo-Nazi. i can’t. i won’t. however, there are other messages that i could consider handing out, such as, “i’m here to listen”.
i prefer to do random acts of kindness anonymously through the use of social media. if someone posts a photo of their cute dog, i will compliment their cute dog. it doesn’t matter who they are, who i am, what either of us believe in at that moment, because we can both accept that the dog is cute. similarly, if someone’s going through a hard time and is posting about their hardships online, i recognize the courage it took for them to write it out and post it on the internet.
I’ve seen an uptick in shirts and bumper stickers along the same lines and they always make me happy. “You are valued” “You’re beautiful” “I hope something good happens to you today”. They’re great messages and seeing them worn or displayed is a force of positivity more people need, for sure.
