"Do Something… Kind:" A Look Back on the Day 5000 Call to Kindness

Last week, as Day 5000 was a personified monster breathing down my neck, I watched the clock dance closer to midnight and felt only marginally more prepared for the celebration than I had when I’d woken up 18 hours earlier. 

Oh shoot… I said as I was getting ready for bed, I was supposed to make a video about doing kind things. 

As proud as I am of everything The Smile Project’s accomplished, it’s moments like this that really pull me back to being 17 and having a dream to “change the world.” 

Well, let’s do it scrappy. 

I set my phone up in our bathroom cupboard and as I washed my face, took out my contacts, and prepared for long overdue rest, I recorded a video asking folks to commit to doing some tangible action in their community to spread Happiness and joy.

With soap suds dripping down my nose and fatigue in my voice, I sighed, do something… kind. 

And do something kind you did. 

I was overwhelmed with the joy that was shared with me from the moment I woke up until the moment I went to bed on Day 5000. One colleague brought banana pudding into the office to share. Another friend was using beautiful stationery to write cards and thank you notes to friends and loved ones. 

In response to how are you spreading intentional joy today, our community said:

• Giving strangers compliments in town 

• Cleaning up so that the servers have less of a mess

• Telling the people in my life that I love them

• Returning a wallet that someone dropped

• Walking with a friend and showing friends my favorite movie from childhood

• Spreading kind words to people

• Getting sweet treats for my coworkers

• I made a bunch of people cookies!!

• Selling ice cream at work

This varied response was a perfect reminder to me that kindness and spreading joy can take many forms. 

The next day, as I was thinking about how I might recap the day’s kind activities, I received a message from one of our newest Smile Ambassadors, Tanner. 

He told his friend, Meeca, that they were going to spread joy and she was immediately on board. They started by painting rocks and hiding them in their community. Then, they bought drinks from the local coffee shop and paid for the car behind them. Next, they went shopping—filling numerous backpacks with school supplies which they delivered to a residential program for at-risk and disadvantaged youth.

Their kindness spree continued. “We bought roses from the store and tied inspirational messages and Smile Project logos on them and passed them out to people. We also put multiple on car door handles.”

It was there that they ran into a man who told them that they “were doing a hell of a job spreading kindness and joy to people.” 

The rest of the flowers went to the nursing home where they didn’t just drop flowers at the front desk but rather stayed and visited with residents. 

Tanner’s message to me began: “Yesterday, I did so many acts of kindness.” Even still, I wasn’t prepared for the barrage of goodness that followed. 

Two days before Day 5000, and three before receiving this text, as my night owl partner was tucking me into bed, I surrendered to the overwhelm. I laid there, mostly silent, with hot tears running down my cheeks. I just wanted to do something big for Day 5000. And I procrastinated, which was dumb, and then I got a concussion, which was dumber. And now it’s here and I just wanted to do something really special and I’m mad at myself and I’m stressed. 

I sniffled into my pillow.

I just wanted to celebrate. 

But the days pass anyway, ready or not. And it’s Day 5000 in a blink. And I edit and reedit my written reflections and I type “Happiness is..” for the 5000th time. I share our community-compiled video and I think of the kind things I am focused on in the coming weeks and I share the kind things others have done.

And it does feel like a celebration. And it does feel special. 

And then I receive Tanner’s message. 

He’s the same age I was when I posted my first Happiness is. I remember what it’s like to spend a day spreading joy with a friend. And just like that, all the pressure, all the ceremony, all the everything fades away because with a simple text I am 17 again, cruising through my hometown in Western Pennsylvania. I’m lifting paint chips from the hardware store to turn into kindness cards. I’m making smiley faces out of clay. I, too, am giving flowers to strangers. 

It’s good to always be looking forward, trying to grow, striving for more. But boy is it beautiful to remember where we started. 

All I wanted to do at 17 was make a difference and be kind. At some point I started recording my joy and permanently recalibrated my life. 

At 31, I wanted to celebrate a big milestone and I wanted to feel ready for it. 

But I’m realizing now that it wasn’t just for me to feel ready. 

Because Day 5000 wasn’t just for me. 

It was for all of us. 

It was a chance for us to wake up and choose joy. To spend some moment of time in the day thinking of someone else. To spread kindness. And to celebrate this once unimaginable milestone. 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to spread kindness in the name of The Smile Project last week (or any time over the last 5000+ days). The tangible ways we move out into the world to improve the lives of others is our biggest legacy. May we build a strong one.