Not Normal
Token Tales — Reflections on invisibility, presence, kindness, and what it means to be noticed through small handmade notes.
I started my week with a photo, texted to me from somewhere in the Netherlands, with the message: "Working on cards getting ready to give out!"
The Friday before, I had given Scott a handful of handmade tokens and my roll of "thank you" stickers before he left on this trip.
"That's a lot!" he said.
"Yeah, but if you start making these tokens, you'll need them," I reassured him.
"How many could I possibly need?" he asked.
Well, there's the Uber driver. The check-in agent. Security personnel. The café workers. The airport custodian... He looked genuinely startled as I started recounting all the people I have conversations with and hand gratitude tokens to when we travel. Easily 20 to 30 tokens have changed hands by the time we board our plane.
To me, this is completely ordinary.
"You realize this is not normal?" he asked.
"Yes, and I don't understand why!" I responded.
He texted me that evening to say he'd added a few things to his travel watercolor kit and was curious to try making some himself. I didn't expect that a few days later, he'd be halfway across the world making gratitude tokens of his own to give away.
After eight years of making and giving thousands of these little pieces, I still don't think I fully understand what happens when someone else decides: "I want to do this, too." Something passed from one person to another can make them want to pass something along, too. And sometimes I get to see the ripple.
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Received a token? I'd love to hear where we met and what stayed with you.
