大约两年前，我开始在纽约市各处留下情书，让陌生人发现。
虽然这个想法听起来很浪漫，但实际上只是为了暂时忘却自己的悲伤和孤独，转而关注那些身处大城市、可能和我一样感到失落的人们。自从写完第一封情书后，我每天早上都会拿起我的草书笔，写情书寄给世界各地的人们，信中饱含着我希望能够帮助他们、治愈他们、陪伴他们度过难关的文字。
每一次落笔，每一次封口，我都汲取着人生经验，我知道无论我的信件寄往何处，这些经验都将永远伴随着我。
我们比自己想象的要勇敢得多。
我以前总觉得勇敢意味着坚强，意味着从不流泪，意味着即使一切看似分崩离析也能力挽狂澜。我们从一开始就被教导——如何保住面子，如何依靠自己，如何永远坚强，却永远（永远）不能软弱。
前几天早上，我收到一位以色列年轻女子的来信。她觉得自己不好意思，有点胆怯和自私，竟然向人索要情书。而我呢？我觉得这是我见过的最勇敢的行为。
鼓起勇气请陌生人帮你写情书，承认自己不知该如何安慰自己，都需要勇气和力量。勇气意味着有时愿意崩溃，愿意让别人走进你的生活，愿意寻求帮助，愿意承认自己只是凡人，需要他人的帮助才能变得更强大。
我们之间的共同点远多于不同点。
我一直不太喜欢“设身处地为他人着想”这种说法。这似乎几乎不可能，而且随着生活经验的积累，我越来越明白，这并非总是必要的。
大多数时候，即使我们拥有相同的情感——悲伤、孤独、嫉妒、痛苦、快乐和希望——我们的故事也截然不同。如果我们敞开心扉，就能比想象中更好地理解彼此。我们无需经历与他人相同的苦难才能表达同情或成为他人生活中的一抹亮色。我们只需要关心。
我们害怕：说错话，反而让事情变得更糟。我们最好什么都别说，因为我们根本无法想象对方正在经历什么。
这不是真的。
即使我们无法感同身受，我们仍然可以站在他们身边支持他们，直到他们重新学会微笑的那一天。
微小的行动比我们想象的更重要。
即使在写下最初的400封情书时，我也从未想过自己真的对世界产生了影响。我无法相信自己如此重要，或者我的存在意义非凡。
我当时并未意识到——我正在潜移默化地影响着周围的人，不仅仅是写信，更是做一件件小事。比如，关心他人，接电话而不是发短信，帮人开门，把我的文字传递出去。这些小事看似微不足道，但涟漪效应却往往源于一个小小的举动。影响力只需要一个人就能开始触动数十人的生活。
就在昨天，一位澳大利亚的年轻人发推特说，他刚刚在大学校园里留下了一封情书。他还给我发了照片。不到24小时后，一位名叫艾伦的女士发现了这封情书，并给我发邮件说，她最近一直被疑虑和悲伤的情绪所困扰，而这封情书是她读到的最好的东西，让她感觉好多了。
有时候，像留下一封信、帮个忙或提供一些建议这样的小事，就能产生连锁反应。
有时，涟漪效应就在眼前，你只需要迈出第一步。
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I was not so sure about this idea but boy am I glad I read the story. I do really love this idea and want to thank you for opening my eyes a bit. I think I get caught up in conventional ways of kindness and think that is enough but now I am seeing that there are many ways to expand with my kindness. Thank you and I love you Hannah!
lovely! thank you for sharing Hannah's story. She is a beautiful young woman, making a positive impact with her gift of the written word to uplift others. Keep up the good work, one small action at at time. And to all of us, let's use our gifts for positive impact too. I got my Free Hugs sign right here. HUG!
I also like this story, but also wonder on how a very American story it is. Americans do not realize that repetitive use of the phrase, "Thank you" , sending cards and now love letters to random strangers is a great deed believing that whoever found such a letter would become edified. I am not sure I will open an envelop that I just happened to find or even find in my pile of envelops sent from random marketers and mistaken addresses etc. Why not an envelop with some $ to a homeless person or a poor and starving child or holding the hands of a dying person in the hospital.....why not do something tangible for those less fortunate. Sorry for sounding a spoiler in the chorus of cheers for something which I find culturally strange even after living in the west for over 30 years
"Courage
[Hide Full Comment]is being willing to crumble sometimes, to bring someone else in, to ask for
help, to admit that you are only human and actually do need others to grow
stronger." this is my take away, thank you as is another piece in puzzle
of why capitalism has gone awry. Everyone out for their own interests in an
extractive economic construct is killer and yet we seem reluctant to change
this old badly designed system. We could drop it like the dis-ease it is and
start generative, sustainable, healthier economic designs. If we can't reach
out, admit we are in a greater relationship to life than merely taking
advantage of it, then we will wither under our own ignorance. That is just
wrong!. Let's be like Hannah and reach out, focus on building trust in
relationships and organizing to design systems that really validate equality,
the free flow of information, the genius within everyone and the amazing
capacity of the natural world. ( we are only beginning to understand how little
we know, we are not the solitary mechanically functioning thing that Newton and
Industrialism told us we were) When we design systems that align with nature,
we will be healthier; we will evolve and open possibilities; that is the future
i want my granddaughters to inherit.
Hello this is a wonderful post and beautiful to read your story and how inspired you have been. I want to introduce you to the wonderful love story we continued and now call Global Love Letters www.globalloveletters.com do pass by and take a watch and read. Think you will enjoy it. Keep shining and being the love you want to see in the world.xx
I love this. Last year after reading a blog here about doing something similar, I made ten little notes that I placed in various spots at my son's high school. In the girls' bathroom, on a drinking fountain, a chair. . . little notes that said things like "you matter" or "you are perfect just the way you are." My son got into a little trouble, and I was at school for a meeting, and imagine my surprise when he walked over to a vending machine with me and he pulled out a note I'd left. It said "don't judge yourself through others' eyes." The most apropos note just for him. (he had no idea I'd left notes around school and it was complete synchronicity that he happened to come upon it.)
There's power in this kind of sharing.
Bless you, Hannah.