Recently I was at an office getting some paperwork done. The young woman attending to me was a bit crabby. As we sat down to go over some information, she suddenly blurted out "I'm starving!" I mumbled a few words of sympathy that seemed to encourage her so she went on to tell me how upset she was at the other girls in the office. According to her, they get caught up in silly things, which cause them to leave too late to go for lunch. Because the office can't be left unattended, and because she can only take her lunch break after theirs, if they leave too late it means she will have a late lunch.

As she spoke, I nodded my support. Then I remembered the breakfast bar in my handbag and offered it to her. Without missing a beat she took the bar, cut it open with her scissors, and immediately started to eat. She didn't even read the label!

As I left she thanked me again for sharing the bar with her. I've had to return to that office and this woman is always the first to make sure I'm being taken care of.

A few days ago I had to do an exam. There was a gentleman in the classroom who seemed to be working on a lot of handwritten charts and graphs that required a lot of erasing and there was no more rubber left on his two pencils. He had already been there when I arrived, and two hours later when I was through, he was still working on some problems.

When I got up to leave, he asked if he could borrow my eraser. At first I told him I didn't have one, but then I remembered that I had two new pencils in my handbag. I took out one and offered it to him. He told me he would quickly make some corrections and then return it, if I didn't mind waiting for a few moments. I told him he could keep the pencil. He opened his eyes wide as if I had offered him a hundred dollar bill. "It's just a pencil", I said as I walked out of the room. He thanked me profusely.

In both instances, small details made a huge difference in somebody's day. You might have heard about the beauty of practicing random acts of kindness and might be tempted to believe that you really don't have that much to offer. But if you would only take the time to keep your eyes and ears open, you would find dozens of ways to enrich somebody's life through one simple gesture.

Here are a few nice things you can do for somebody today:

· Offer a tissue to somebody who is sneezing, coughing, crying, or perspiring. Once on the street I saw a pregnant woman waiting for a bus. It was a hot day and she had really worked up a sweat. I walked up to her and handed her a tissue. She was grateful to the point of tears. Speaking of tears, on my first week as a life coach I learned the importance of having a box of Kleenex on hand. A woman sat in my office crying desperately and I had no tissue to offer. Needless to say, it was an awkward moment.

· Give a pat on the back. In this age of political correctness and misinterpretations, we have deprived ourselves of the healing power of touch. A friendly hand on the shoulder is truly empowering.

· Distribute smiles. We rush through life caught up in our own problems and situations, and rarely lift our heads long enough to offer a smile or a nod of encouragement. I had to visit a government office well known for its difficult employees. My mind was made up that in spite of what happened that day, no one was going to steal my joy. I walked up to the sour-looking, scowling woman behind the desk with my sweetest smile in place. Immediately she struggled to change her facial expression. Finally she was able to put on a smile, and was actually very helpful.

· Share. In kindergarten a lot of emphasis is placed on sharing and playing nice. We need to take those life lessons beyond the early education classroom. You don't need to have anything big or expensive. Yesterday I was at the supermarket and needed a penny. I searched my coin purse desperately, but could not find one. The gentleman behind me reached into his pocket and gave the cashier the penny. What a lovely, inexpensive act of kindness! Remember: a breakfast (or candy) bar, a pencil, a tissue, a penny at the cash register, a smile, a pat on the back, all these are inexpensive treats that go a long way.