Week 3: Cold Hard Cash

Well my friends, here we are again. Welcome to week 3 of me, learning how to inspire me, by doing random nice things for other people and writing about them. Let's see what happened this week.

I spent last week in Croatia.  It was my first time there and it lived up to all the hype of the dozen or so people that I talked to before-hand.  The people are friendly and genuine, the streets are clean, the water is beautiful, the food is great and affordable, and the beer and wine will not disappoint.

​I did struggle for a bit to determine what to do, but when it became clear I had to many Kunas (the local currency) to spend before leaving I figured why not just give it to someone at the airport. So, that's exactly what I did. I went near the currency-exchange window and found a small group of three weary looking travellers and handed them a wad of cash.

What happened next was a bit unexpected - I got a great big hug from the one girl in the group (also the one who physically received the money). Apparently they had been struggling to get her card to work and was essentially broke 7000 meters away from home. The amount of money I gave them wasn't a huge amount, but it was enough to be comfortable for the next 24 hours - taxi from the airport to the Airbnb, dinner and breakfast the next day. By then, all should be cleared-up with her bank and life will go on.

For me, an unexpected 8-10 second hug from a stranger and the shedding of a couple tears of joy really made my day. I figured there would be no 'story' - I predicted the same feeling I get from buying someone a gift-card for their birthday. But this was different. This was helping someone in need - someone who just needed a win and I was able to provide that win.