A Small Token.
A Real Moment.
A Quiet Rebellion.
It starts with a small wooden token
A quiet way to say the big things:
“I see you.”
“You matter.”
“Thanks for being human with me.”
Some were kept. Some were passed on.
But all of them landed.
Because even one moment of true recognition can shift something.
In the giver. In the receiver.
In the stranger who finds it next.
Maybe the kindest thing we can do is to pursue presence — radically, relentlessly —in service of one another.
Because we never really know how far one small gesture can ripple.
This is how connection spreads.
One token. One moment. One world made softer at a time.
You’re not just participating.
You’re helping rewrite what’s possible.
How it works:
-
A human, fully here.
Maybe they’re laughing with a stranger.
Maybe they’re sitting in stillness, eyes up, not down.
Whatever it is, you feel it: presence. -
You slip them a token.
No explanation needed.
You’re saying: I saw that. I saw you.
It’s quiet. Bold. Weirdly thrilling.(and will likely score you a new friend.)
-
The front: “I see you awake to life.”
The back: “When we strip away distraction we make space for life. Thank you for showing up fully! Pass this on when you spot someone truly here.”It’s unexpected. Disarming.
They just got witnessed — not liked, not followed, seen. -
Keep it as a reminder that unexpected moments of magic occur when we create space for connection.
Or pass it on when the next moment calls!
Either way, the ripple continues.(Connection is contagious!)
How it all started
The collective tech fixation has always pissed me off.
And I can’t even blame us, really.
These platforms are engineered by teams of experts devoted to keeping us addicted.
It all feels so morally corrupt.
I feel furious that we’re living in a society that accepts this mass addiction and life killer.
Beneath that fury is sadness.
Beneath that sadness is loneliness.
Beneath that loneliness is desire for connection.
Beneath that desire is love.
So what do I do with this love?
One day while I was on a shuttle bus from the Denver airport
(y’know, the kind where you’re all facing each other)
I found myself in a situation I so often do –
everywhere I looked there was someone on their phone.
Except one person.
One person who was down to connect.
With the boredom, with the world around them, and with me.
We made eye contact. Smiled.
Took in the blue mountains, the hum of the highway, the smell of the old, sterilized shuttle bus.
Our eyes met again. I mouthed “everyone is on their PHOOOONE.”
We shared a quiet laugh. And just kept noticing.
I wished that I had a way to celebrate this stranger’s decision to meet the present moment as fully as they did.
So I made a wooden token to ensure it was easier next time.
I believe the world would be a better place if we focused on what pissed us off most and directed our passion towards creating a change.
You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t down for that kind of change.
I can’t wait to see what you create.
