[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]HE POSTS ON Facebook are either all about pushing services, marketing products, denouncing political agendas, or demeaning and depressing propaganda! At least those are the oft repeated complaints I’ve heard. But my Facebook feed tells a completely different story. Social media, to me is a Pay It Forward agent. Allow me to share a few posts from just the past week. It’s interesting that while I know each of these people personally, none of them know each other and they are from different parts of the country.
I gave someone cuts at the supercenter, then we stood there talking about life in general and nothing in particular until their order was bagged up, and they were on their way. As my last item went across the scanner, the cashier pulled out $30 that the couple ahead of me gave her to pay toward my purchases.
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I helped my husband into a seat at the table in our local restaurant and adjusted his oxygen tank. It was the first time he had been strong enough to leave the house after a long hospital stay. When we asked for our check, the waitress said the people at the table next to us paid our bill along with theirs before leaving. I couldn’t even thank them because we had no idea who they were. Our only introduction to them consisted of a few cordial greetings and small talk.
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The detergent machine at the laundromat was broken so someone put a sign “Free for Use” and left bottles of detergent and dryer sheets for anyone to use. It wasn’t the owner of the laundromat either.
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The couple in the booth next to us paid our bill because my husband and I held hands and prayed together before eating.
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On a torturously hot day a little girl and her grandma put cold bottled lemonade and water in a wagon and walked up and down our neighborhood streets giving glasses of lemonade and water to people working in their yards.[su_spacer]
While we might consider the acts of kindness and generosity to fall into the Pay It Forward category, how did you feel as you read each story? Didn’t you smile, at least on the inside? This is why social media, with Facebook being the most ubiquitous, is a Pay It Forward Agent. Performing an act of kindness is the first wave, then telling the story for others to experience it too, is the next wave the carries the good feeling and impresses the idea into the minds of others. Pay It Forward is mobilized by social media.
Here’s the issue with the concept of Pay-it-Forward – it will cost you something. Doing good has value so it also has a cost. It might be money, but it could also be time, space, process, or some nebulous service. But Pay It Forward has another requirement that goes beyond financials, time or any tangible resource. It requires an attitude of gratitude. Think a minute on this. If you’re feeling out of focus or off your game, maybe it’s because you’re insulated from the needs of others. The remedy is “Do good” for someone, expecting nothing in return. Take this important first step.
Be thankful. To have a giving spirit you must have a thankful soul. Be thankful that you are able to give to another person. Keep an attitude of gratitude.
As this story began, I chronicled the Facebook posts of friends who were the beneficiaries of Pay It Forward acts. Those all involved money, but trust me on this, some of the most meaningful and heartwarming experiences you can provide for another person have no financial price tag. I’m not going to claim that being kind will be effortless. In fact, what you choose to do might be inconvenient, it might turn out to be more effort than you anticipated, and it might dip into your bank account. But the value of the act and the “do good” rewards are limitless.
We may wonder what we can do to come alongside another person when we have no idea what they need. We easily avoid the prompting to do something because we are at a loss for what to do. There’s an empty feeling in a heart insulated from the needs of others, and the remedy is found in relationship, in reaching out to ‘do good’.
I didn’t come up with these twenty ideas on my own, but this idea list was created through collaboration with people who have a thankful soul and have reached out in kindness to bring happiness to others in need.
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√ Babysit without charge
√ Visit a shut-in who can’t go out to see friends
√ Take lunch to someone who had surgery or is sick
√ Write and mail a letter – send pictures to a friend from your past
√ Mail care packages to deployed troops – get addresses from a family member
√ Call someone who claims you never call
√ Provide respite care for a caregiver for a day, evening, or weekend
√ Mow a lawn
√ Clean a house
√ Pick random days in the year to send UNBirthday cards with caring messages
√ Offer to pick up groceries or run errands for a shut-in
√ Leave a bag of quarters at the laundromat – marked as a gift
√ Go to a nursing home and read to people
√ Take a dog to a nursing home and visit a bunch of people (get permission first)
√ Make a whole meal and take it to a family who needs some TLC
√ Donate household items to a place where they give things away without charge
√ Weed a garden – some communities have garden space
√ Take a bouquet of flowers to someone who needs to be cheered up
√ Paint a room
√ Write some cards like the one here and give them to cashiers, servers, or customer service helpers[/message][su_spacer]
There is no ROI on acts of kindness. How would you measure the value of comfort you brought to someone suffering a long term illness or relief to a caregiver whose energy reserves were depleted long ago – just because you showed up? We can’t take the temperature of emotion when a person who is feeling overwhelmed receives a phone call or card in the mail telling them they are loved and appreciated. We have no joy meter that accurately displays the radiance of a smile on someone’s face – but when we see it, the joy returned is immediate. Put a smile on someone’s face and it will reflect on yours.
Is there someone who could use a phone call, a personal visit, a warm hug upon meeting them at the super market, an offer to babysit, a hot meal delivered, or a coffee date right in your own home? Could you open your desk drawer, find a pen, scrap of paper, and stamp to send a ‘thinking of you’ message for no reason except to encourage and cheer someone up? Could you send email, message through Facebook, or text message someone just because they were on your mind? “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart…” Luke 6:45
For those who choose to make a difference this is just
The Beginning …
An amazingly well-presented call to action!
Thank You, Ms Jane!
Yes, Mother Teresa spoke volume of simple things with great love. I believe one can just smile at someone and make a difference
If you see someone without a smIle, share yours.
In our Lay Missionaries of Charity group, we find that the acts of giving truly comes from the heart, as Bl. Mother Teresa taught in so many ways through the simplest of acts. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone responded to the acts of giving from a loving and caring heart. Beautiful Jane
Lynn, there are so many ways to act kindly toward others. We overthink it sometimes and because we don’t have a way to do something extraordinary, we forget that ordinary would be like a spotlight in a dark room. Didn’t Bl. Mother Teresa say something like, “We can’t always do great things but we can do small things with great love?” I probably have that wrong, but the thread of the idea is right. Thank you for adding value to the conversation.
Devaney, something tells me we share the same values. Being thankful has the power to completely change a life, many lives. Thank you for all the kindnesses and sacrifices you make for others.
Beautiful article, Jane. Thank you for the reminder that acts of giving and caring come forth from a thankful heart. You are a blessing to many. 🙂