Pay It Forward

What's the  next book I'll be reading in my free time?  Pay It Forward, by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  Perhaps you've heard of the movie by the same name?  Did you know that there is also a Pay It Forward Foundation, or numerous days throughout the world dedicated to "paying it forward?" 

So what exactly does it mean to "Pay It Forward?"  Well, it means to preform a random act of kindness for someone, and not to expect anything in return except for asking that person to do something good for someone else, and continue to pay it forward.  At a time when it seems as if everything in the world is bad, it feels good to do something you know will brighten someone's day.  I like to think of it being like the Golden Rule.  Treat someone like you would want to be treated, do something for someone else that you would like done for you.  It could be something simple like greeting someone with a smile, or make more of an impact.

The first time I can remember witnessing an act like this that really made an impression on me was when I was in high school.  I was on an FFA trip with about 20 other students and we were eating at McDonalds.  After all of us had placed our order, my adviser stepped up to the register to pay and the gentleman behind him insisted that he pay for our entire group for no other reason than that he was impressed with us and wanted to do something to help us out.  This event will always be in my memory.

This past Christmas, Mark and I had a voucher for a free  night at Best Western that we weren't going to be able to use before it expired, and so we took it to a Best Western and asked the hotel manager to please apply it to someone's stay that night.  It felt SO good to do this for someone else, even if she didn't know who we were. 

I just read a friend's status on facebook that said the person in the car in front of them at the drive thru paid for their dinner.

What can you do to "Pay It Forward?"  Keep this going, and hopefully everyone will know what it feels like to do this.