A recent story on Heartitude shared a simple but powerful reminder about what happens when people choose to truly see one another.
A Texas volleyball team noticed something many people overlooked. Day after day, a janitor showed up, worked hard, and quietly cared for the spaces around them. Most people saw the mop. They saw the man.
What began as appreciation became action. The team rallied around him and helped provide something life-changing: the keys to a new beginning.
It’s the kind of story that reminds us that kindness isn’t always grand. Sometimes it starts with paying attention.
Ollie would probably sum it up in two words:
“I see you.”
That’s the Heartitude in this story.
Every person you meet carries a story you may never know. The cashier. The custodian. The delivery driver. The coworker who sits quietly in meetings. The neighbor you wave to but never really talk with.
When we see people only through their roles, we miss the person.
When we choose to notice, listen, appreciate, and act, we make life better—not just for them, but for ourselves and our communities.
The Texas volleyball team didn’t just offer gratitude. They turned gratitude into action.
That’s the difference.
Every moment holds a choice.
We can look past people.
Or we can see them.
And sometimes, seeing someone is the first step toward changing a life.
Make it worse… or make it better.
Read the original Heartitude story.