Good Morning-
This really caught my eye. I thought it would be fun to see how we all pay it forward on a daily basis...and just see what happens 
PAY IT FORWARD ~ IN PRACTICEKindness, like a boomerang, always returns. ~ Author Unknown I have learned from experience that when we commit an act of kindness for others, for strangers, it’s only a matter of time before that kindness comes back to us.
Being kind is a gift that gives both to the giver and the receiver. Call it “what goes around comes around”. Do we need to learn, listen to or engage in talks of universal laws and the law of cause and effect, the law of attraction, etc.
I propose something simpler and more direct: how about we see for ourselves through practice?
So, what little, simple acts of kindness can we do to pay it forward today?
-put a quarter in a meter, any meter, that’s about to expire
-leave a copy of a really great book you’ve read in a cafe for someone else to enjoy
-be nice to the customer service people who are trying to help you with your technological difficulties
-tip your restaurant server generously
-thank the cooks, waitstaff and bussers personally
-say something nice or funny or goofy to the toll booth attendant (like, “Don’t drive too fast, now” or “Glad to have encountered you today”, or something less hokey)
-forgive a driver directing road rage at you
-buy or pack a meal for a homeless person (or give him/her your to-go box from a restaurant)
-give a warm coat to a homeless person
-offer to do pro bono work on a project where your skills are needed
-mentor someone
-make a donation
-say a prayer or whisper a kind wish for someone
-compliment a stranger
-send a box of donuts or bagels or muffins to a construction site
-next time you leave a foreign country, give all or some of what’s left of your currency to someone who resides in that country
-next time you’re at the airport, offer to pull the bags belonging to a woman or a mother with child out of the conveyor belt
-praise friends, coworkers, family, nieghbors generously
-give local tips/directions (re: restaurants, sights, etc.) to a tourist
-show respect equally to all human beings
-put a tip in a street musician’s jar
-let someone cut in front of you at the grocery store
-tell a funny joke to a stranger
-give someone a chance to prove him or herself
-encourage someone to pursue their dream
-allow someone to let his or her light shine
-show support to an artist or writer or musician
-hold the door open for someone
-tip a cab driver generously
-teach a child something you wish you knew at that age
-smile at someone who’s sad
-smile at strangers
-offer sincere, kind words to someone who’s hurting
-visit a hospice and spend some time with a terminally ill patient
-volunteer at a battered women’s shelter
-spend some time with a senior citizen living alone
-give up your seat on a crowded bus or train or ferry
-inspire someone to be the best that they can be
-give someone the benefit of the doubt
-offer to babysit for a single mother
-offer the FedEx, UPS or DHL delivery person something to drink especially on a warm day
-help a pregnant lady
-sit and talk with a homeless person and learn their story
-loan something to someone and forget about it
-loan money on Kiva
-contribute to a friend’s child’s education fund
-give blood
-show respect to a soldier regardless of your pacifism
-donate to or volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation
-replace an angry/bitter thought toward someone with a loving thought or at least try
WHERE CAN THIS LEAD?
Is experiencing a little unexpected kindness enough to turn us into believers that maybe, just maybe, there can be peace on earth? Maybe, maybe not. If we’re capable of small acts of kindness, can we go bigger? I make no guarantees but, I’d sure like to find out. Wouldn’t you?
Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not. ~Samuel Johnson
December 28, 2009, 09:49:45 AM
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