I wasn’t going to tell this story because it was something that happened that I wanted to keep to myself. But after reading a story a woman told about buying a homeless woman a meal and how it inspired others to be kind and empathetic, I decided to share because we need more kindness in the world.

Last week I gave a homeless man a jacket I designed off my back because he told me it was beautiful. I looked at his grocery cart and felt how warm my jacket was. One of the aims of my fledging fashion line is activism and improving our community starts on a local level, person to person.

It was my first time wearing the jacket outside the house. The design is below. The jacket had a Bodhisattva on the back I thought about how in Buddhism, the aim is to be free from desire and attachment to material things. I thought about how those truly dedicated to a Buddhist path trade in their clothes for simple robes. I connected with the bodhisattva in that moment and knew giving the man my jacket was the right thing to do with colder weather on the way.

I offered the jacket to the man, who kept asking if I was sure and I said that he only had that cart. I told him it was OK because it was my design and I could order another one. He and his friends told me to have a good day. The man was holding up the jaket and examining it with a big smile on his face as I walked away. I felt a little shocked I gave someone the shirt off my back and decided to let the experience go because the good deed was done and there was nothing left to do or say.

Even if he traded it to get something he needed, it still helped.

It never hurts to be kind.