Yesterday afternoon, a crew of folks gathered on the streets of San Francisco yesterday, to do random acts of kindness for Shiv's 23rd birthday! From writing cards to strangers and loved ones, to gifting snacks to passerby, to handing out socks to the homeless, the afternoon was filled with smiles.

More stories to come, but here's a few highlights...

While offering strangers tangerines, people at first would be suspect that there was some agenda behind it. But as soon as the words, "We're doing random acts of kindness for a friend's birthday" slipped out of our mouths, people's shoulders would lighten and they'd smilingly accept our gifts. One stranger responded, "For an act of kindness, I'll take it!"

While walking down a crowded city street, a passerby somewhat pushed one of us in a hurry -- to which the immediate (unintended) reaction from one of us was "Thank you!" It's great to see how an intention of service in the company of kind friends can keep one's spirits lifted, no matter what is happening around.

Thanks, Shiv, Kendrick, Claire, and friends, for inspiring smiles across the city! As a high school teacher, it's inspiring to see twenty-something year-olds spend their Saturday in such an uplifting way.