If I told you I had 1000ksh in my wallet right now, what would come to mind on how to spend it? Let me guess, buying some accessories, getting myself a new pair of jeans, or maybe I should walk into KFC and enjoy a delicious chicken wingman meal. To be honest, those are things I want and yes, I should probably do that, but after that, then what?

One young boy had saved enough for ice cream. One afternoon he walked into an ice cream shop, not sure whether the amount he had was enough to buy a cone of ice cream. “How much does an ice cream cone cost?” the boy asked a waiter. The waiter said 23ksh. The boy checked the amount he had in his pocket and asked again. “How much does a smaller cone cost?” The waiter a bit reluctant unsure of where the questioning was headed replied 20ksh. The boy requested the smaller cone, he savored the ice cream, paid the bill, and left. When the waiter came to collect the bill, he found 23ksh. The young boy had ordered enough for himself and left the 3ksh as a tip to the waiter. The waiter cried, touched by the heart of a young boy.

There is this phrase that says, if the money you have can’t solve the problems you have, eat that money. With my 1000ksh, I can walk into a thrift store and purchase a very classy hand purse. I will definitely rock the purse for a while till it wears out and there goes my 1000ksh. What if I told you, with that money you can create a longer-lasting impact on someone else’s life? It would be an unforgettable moment for a poor widow if I chose to buy foodstuff for her with that 1000ksh. With the current economy, I will probably get a kg of rice, a liter of cooking oil, a few packets of milk, and some flour and there goes my 1000ksh. It’s not about the quantity, it’s more about the act and the intentions behind it that puts a smile on the poor lady. A simple act of kindness to this stranger will forever be engraved in her memory and just like that, 1000ksh however trivial it is bears more meaning in life.

Every day I wake up, I make a plan for the day, the plan revolves around my life and what I need to do to make it better. It is mostly about me; how can I be richer? How can I be more popular? How can I rise the ranks at work? How can I be a better daughter/son?

Imagine waking up and instead of planning for ‘I’, plan for a total stranger. Plan for how I can make the beggar on my way to work smile, how I can cheer up my gateman, and how I can help my poor neighbor’s kid. It is only when you ask yourself these questions that life truly gains meaning. To fully live you have to learn the craft of living wisely, loving well, and serving greatly. They say a kind act can heal a wound only compassion can heal. The smallest act of kindness in most cases bears the most impact compared to flashy overpriced generosity. When you give freely without expecting anything in return, only then have you mastered the true art of generosity.

A smile is a true therapy and you do not need money to make a total stranger smile. Walking around radiating good vibes and positive thoughts can be contagious and once you open up to the world, the world begins to open up to you. Have you ever stopped to contemplate how the world is run by an intelligent process designed to help us grow into our best selves? There are no coincidences to good or bad luck in life, we design our own lives through the actions we lead.