Guest Blogger: Carianne Schulte

Carianne Schulte and I have become great friends since first meeting at an 8 Minute Ripple well over a year ago. Carianne is one of those truly amazing people who will warm your heart with her generosity and spirit and inspire you with her enthusiasm for impacting others. In my humble opinion she is the epitomy of Rippler!

Carianne has created something that undoubtedly creates a powerful and lasting Ripple each time that it is given and each time that it is received. It is in this spirit, that I have asked her to be my guest Blogger.

You can learn more about Carianne and her Pocketful of Thank Yous! by visiting her website at www.bycarianne.com

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What is it that connects us to other human beings in the world? Throughout my life I’ve been fascinated by people. I sometimes just watch people walking or driving by and wonder what kind of life they have…are they happy…how do they fit into the world? How do I fit into it? I don’t know if I can explain it, but one way of connecting to another is just a particular look in the eyes of another person that says ‘I see you, I see the being that you are’. We walk by people every day not knowing how a simple smile, or a hello, or a simple acknowledgment can change someone’s day. How do we, how can we impact other beings in this world?

I was impacted one day by a look in a stranger’s eyes, a soldier in El Paso. I was just walking through the El Paso airport with my Dad and saw this soldier in fatigues, walking alone…and it was just a look in his eyes that got me. That look in his eyes, a moment of connection, gave me this overwhelming sense of gratitude for him and for all of the men and women of past and present that have served in the military. I don’t know who he was, what he was thinking, where he’d come from or where he was going. I didn’t approach him, I didn’t say ‘thank you’. I regret it, but at that moment, saying thank you didn’t seem enough.

The words, ‘thank you’ are powerful, and many have difficulty saying it, especially when it comes to the military. Often times it’s about how one feels about the war, other times it’s about being intimidated by the uniform, about not wanting in invade someone’s space, or about not thinking the words ‘thank you’ are enough.

Whatever the reason, I wanted to create something tangible that would help alleviate any hesitations because I believe that acknowledgment does make a difference in another person’s life, and having a small token of gratitude makes it easier to say 'thank you'. It was that one moment of connection with that soldier that made me want to direct the thank you tokens toward those serving in the military. That moment of connection and 911 had me looking at the ‘military’ as individuals with families. I see them as human beings that have chosen to serve their country and I see their contribution and sacrifices, and I want to make certain that they have a pocketful of thank you coins so that they know they are appreciated.