Pay it Forward

Imagine this…. You are standing in line at your local coffee shop. You might have been having a bumpy morning and just really want your coffee fix. Getting to the counter you say your order and then take out your card to pay, but the person behind the counter said the customer ahead of you already covered whatever you were going to get. How does that make you feel? So incredibly special and touched that a random stranger would go out of their way to make your day a little bit easier. So you do the same for the person behind you. You pass on the love and hope that your act of kindness brightens another stranger’s day just like your day has been brightened. That then sets the mood for your day…. You go out of your way to be extra kind to all those around you because well you want others to have as good of a day as you are having. You are paying it forward. Xo

So often enough these days we get all caught up in our busy daily lives. We get slight tunnel vision and only really see what is right around us and feel like we’re alone in all the mess. That is far from true though. Sometimes we need to stop and take a step back, take a deep breath and look around us. Notice every one else hustling and bustling around, the sun in the sky, the good deeds people are doing around you. Sometimes people do those good deeds for us and then we get a wake up call. Not everything revolves around our stresses and struggles and we are definitely not alone. That wake up call reminds us that people are looking out for us. So why not return the favor and try to bless someone else’s day as well. Try and help someone else who might be feeling overwhelmed feel calmer and not alone.

I did this the other day in rush hour traffic. Even though we were backed up and waiting forever for the red light to turn green I let a car go ahead of me. I noticed their face went from intense and a bit frantic to a huge smile and they waved at me. Waving back I chuckled and joked to myself, “that was my good deed for the day.” I then noticed they did the same exact thing later down the road for another car… we were paying it forward and helping each other out even though we were all frantic and rushed with all the traffic. Then later down the road someone let me in in front of them so the circle came back to me. Even minor moments like this when you pay it forward by just letting someone in front of you can change a person’s whole day. They can go from feeling stressed and rushed to, “oh hey humanity isn’t that bad because that person is allowing me to go before them.” Bring a smile to someone every day if you can. Xo

There is actually a movement that is called the Pay it Forward movement. On their main website you can go and donate money to help people in need and even animals and the planet. You can also volunteer in areas to do those acts of kindness for those around you as well. What a beautiful movement and foundation! The philosophy behind this foundation is that doing these acts of kindness to all those around you could help promote a more caring and loving society for us all to live in. In the long run love is what matters. If we love and share love with all those around us and the ripple effect happens imagine how many people could and will be touched in some way by an act of kindness. This foundation and movement is all actually based on a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde with the same title as the foundation. The book was written in 1999 and the foundation was started a year later. They have been slowly building and growing, and hoping that through their acts of service and kindness the world can become a better place. Every little bit counts, never discount any act of kindness by thinking it’s too insignificant. Every act that you do out of love is worth it no matter how small. It shows you care and want to make a difference is someone else’s life as well. That is being real, kind, and loving and that is so rare these days. So often enough the media and society focuses on big celebrity stories, politics, bad news, etc. and fails to acknowledge the random acts of kindness done every day by ordinary people. These ordinary people however, are the ones in the long run who will bring about the positive changes to our world with the love they are sharing!

So long story short what I really want to highlight and cannot stress enough is share the love. Take a little time out of your day to help that stranger who you may never see again. We need to promote more acts fueled by love in our society and we need to do them with the full expectation of not receiving anything back. Be caring and love with an agape type of love that is all encompassing and expects nothing in return. Have a big heart and try to make all those around you feel special and not alone, because then if they feel that way they will pass it on to those around them and the ripple effect could be so much bigger than you could ever imagine. Be the change you want to see in the world and spread the love to EVERYONE. No exceptions because you don’t know what journey those around you are on. Never judge, just love.

S’Agapo

 

I’m going to share the link for the Pay it Forward foundation so you can all go check them out!

https://www.payitforwardfoundation.org