Let’s face it, 2020 was a year that left us looking for the glimmers of good. One positive was the expansion of states that now allow cannabis use. This was no easy lift — cannabis is still suffering from decades of prohibition-driven stigmas.
While doing human rights awareness with her nonprofit Built on Respect, Planting Seeds of Kindness’ founder Heidi Minx recognized that true change wasn’t a landslide, but was built on one conversation at a time.
Additionally, role models were imperative, but they didn’t need to be superheroes. Sometimes, we just need to look around us, and when we see someone else taking small steps, it can empower and inspire us to do the same.
Another thing she noticed? Those everyday heroes didn’t wear signs broadcasting what they were doing; if anything they took a humble approach, and just did what they knew was kind and right.
In the early noughts, Minx had started a column with Inked Magazine called Inked for a Cause that focused on shifting the stereotypes around members of the tattooed community. Interviews with underdogs and individuals doing good were shared across the magazine’s online platforms. Today, one might wonder, ‘Was that ever a problem?’ Just remember that tattooing was illegal in New York City from 1961-1997.
Planting Seeds of Kindness is a small, grassroots-level space to recognize all of the good and kindness that the cannabis movement encompasses. We welcome and rely on word of mouth to find the individuals that collectively inspire us. Please reach out if you’d like to suggest someone for us to interview, and as always, please help us continue to inspire kindness by sharing these stories with #PlantingSeedsOfKindness.