A few years ago, I was a tour guide at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. I loved being a guide – having to explain the sometimes downright inexplicable. Like why that white canvas is really good art. I admit sometimes I had to fake it, but I believe my enthusiasm dulled my audience’s skepticism, or at least opened their eyes to life outside the box.
One day I was asked to give a tour to a group of high school students. As usual, I thought it went really well. I knew my stuff, and I presented it in an engaging way. Or, so I thought. Imagine my shock when I received a negative, really negative review written by this young high school teacher in my mailbox. It was terrible. I was crushed. I took it up with my coordinator, and I believe because she was young and inexperienced and therefore didn’t know how to soothe a breaking heart, she gave me no words of solace. I quit soon after. I was that disheartened.
Now, I must have had other reasons for ending my time there - like the hours or the drive or scheduling problems. And I know people are supposed to give honest reviews. And honestly, I know others’ opinions are not supposed to determine our self-worth. Even so, that review really just broke my spirit.
So, in the spirit of showing kindness to others, I posted two really positive reviews this week!
The first was for Cheyanne, a freshman college student giving us a tour of her historic college. She did a great job. I kept thinking that her parents would be so proud of her right now. The second was an older woman who gave us a tour of a historic cemetery. She clearly had a passion for the history of the place and its inhabitants, and we learned a lot.
In the past, I would have told myself that I was going to give the tours 5 stars on TripAdvisor. But I wouldn’t have gotten around to it. So, in the spirit of showing kindness this week, I did it. I gave each tour 5 stars, and made sure to write a positive review, and I made doubly sure to name these two wonderful women.
I hope they will read the review, or someone they love will read the review. We all deserve to hear that we are doing a really good job in our lives. That is kindness.