British-born author and television personality Leon Logothetis has made a name for himself documenting his travels around the world in search of a bit of human kindness.
Formerly a successful stockbroker, Logothetis became disillusioned with his life and embarked on a journey across the world with nothing but the clothes on his back and $5 in his pocket. Along the way, he found that the spirit of kindness and compassion was still alive.
If all of this is new to you – if you missed his books and his National Geographic TV show, Adventures of a Nobody — you can now join Logothetis on his journey via a 13-part series, The Kindness Diaries, now streaming on Netflix.
In this series, he begins his trip in California without a penny to call his own (not even the $5 a day he allowed himself on his previous expedition), seated on a bright yellow motorcycle he dubbed “Kindness One” (presumably a play on “Air Force One”). Each day is a new adventure in kindness hunting: he needs to appeal to complete strangers for food, lodging and even gas for his bike.
What’s striking and inspiring about it is that the people who have the least are the readiest to help him. Tony in Pittsburgh, for example, is homeless, but happy to offer what little he has – including clean underwear – to Logothetis.
Struck by the generosity of the strangers he meets, Logothetis asks his benefactors about their motivation and learns a little bit about what it means to have faith (at one point he says he has “goosebumps” after hearing a man explain why he helps others by telling him about the religious conversion he had after hearing Rev. Billy Graham speak).
Logothetis, in the end, helps out those who have helped him the most. Their obvious surprise is a testament to their selflessness and will leave you feeling there’s hope for humankind after all — mission accomplished.
Watch it on Netflix.
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