I was woken up by a dream last night in which I saw my belongings—clothes, mostly, but also some books and papers—outside on the street, wrapped in plastic bags. Sanitation workers were loading them into a garbage truck. In the dream, I found my way onto the sidewalk and pleaded with the sanitation workers to please not throw my things away. I needed them, I said. I wouldn’t be able to get more. But it was one of those dreams in which the…

A friend of mine once told me that, whenever she’s struggling through a bad day or something difficult, she makes extra effort to be kind to others. In fact, she said that she’ll go out of her way to perform small acts of kindness on her hardest days. To be honest, when I heard this, my immediate response was cynical. How can anyone be expected to be especially thoughtful, considerate, or giving on a really bad day? When I reflected on my friend’s…