Gratitude-Paying it Forward
Choosing how to pay it forward.
I often am inspired to pay it forward at odd times. One day it was a woman sitting eating her lunch alone, another time it was planned Christmas gifts for needy children. Another time it was a coffee for the car behind me. Each time it offers a sense of completion, a feeling of wholeness and inter-connectivity with others. No one should feel compelled to repay the one who paid it forward, they only need remember to pay it forward later to someone in need.
I have tried to explain this concept to many people and I get a lot of sarcastic retorts and snorts of ignorance. Many will say for me to call them so they can drive behind me to Starbucks, or if I had enough money to give it away, they could surely use it. The ones who believe they are entitled to it are not the ones I would intend to gift. There are a lot of greedy people who want something for nothing in this world, or believe they "deserve" something by virtue of blood or birth right. This is not so! We all have the choice how hard we wish to work, and how much we are willing to take to do that work. Many people complain about not having "enough money" to meet their needs. They need to drop their needs. They need to understand that we all could live beyond our means of we so chose and some of those things we "need" are really only things we "want".
Paying it forward should be a requirement in growing up. We need to learn by doing. If we are not aware of the other persons world and their situation we are totally in the dark about our fellow man. Oftentimes, it is only when we are both spiritually bereft and morally bankrupt that we come to learn the greatest lessons in life.We are but one paycheck away from being on the street and when we show others we care, we show them this is not a cruel, nasty world, but one of love and abundance. When we see the depravity of murderers and crooks we think there are only bad things, but when we gift, we see the joy inherent in small things that bring joy.
One need not be a religious person to understand these concepts. One only need remember from whence we either dwell.... either in love and kindness or in hatred and fear.Choose love, always, a smile is also a gift, a compliment, a kind word. There is much one can give freely in life, even if one does not have monetary wealth.