Human, Kind

April 5, 2025

I have often found myself acting as an ambassador for the places I live, work, or frequent. Even before I moved to this tourist town — where we spend the summer eating lunch and drinking coffee with thousands of our closest friends — I had a number of jobs that put me in this position. I have been the first face people saw, the first voice they heard, or the first email they received upon their arrival to the Driftless.

At my current job, I’m also the first person my coworkers see when they arrive at work every morning. I enjoy this duty, although it can be a lot of pressure to set the tone for the day ahead. It makes me proud to see my colleagues visibly relax as they enter our space. Just by taking a moment to smile and say hello, I can make those around me feel safe, comfortable, and cared for.

This role took on even more significance in the aftermath of last fall’s election. Emotions are still running high from that dark day. It was hard for me on November 6th not to feel guilty about my smiling greetings to coworkers. I wanted to suppress my tendency to provide a ray of hope; after all, who was I to say that people shouldn’t be grief-stricken?

I’ve had my share of grief in life, though, which might make me uniquely suited to face this situation. I know it’s possible to be sad about the big things and happy about the little things all at once. Neither takes away from the other.

A smile can have the same effect as exercise, a good cry, or a sunny day. There are times when this is all I need to feel better. It doesn’t mean I’m not grieving a loss, but rather that I’m taking every chance to pause and breathe and try to reset. Many of my journal entries reflect a 180-degree change in my surface mood after I take a walk or the clouds disappear.

We can create pinpricks of light in the darkness for one another. It takes so little effort to consider the people around us, but it can make a measurable difference to someone’s day. As a college professor of mine once said, we should eschew “random acts of kindness” and instead choose to be kind deliberately. If someone is still sad after I smile and say hello, so be it. I would rather say that I tried.