Pay it forward (Week 30)
"There is no wrong way to perform an act of kindness."
The author Catherine Ryan Hyde has given a wonderful phrase to humanity: Pay it Forward. More than just a best-selling book and Hollywood star vehicle, it's a stirring call to action. So I spent a week that I hope will become the rest of my life, simply doing good things for others that I might otherwise have not done.
In the past few years, I've become aware of another phrase in our modern zeitgeist: virtue signalling. So I'm really hoping to avoid the suggestion that I'm somehow better than everyone else by doing nice things and then blogging about it. This is only about sharing my own experience; I know how much they pale in comparison to others.
About 5 years ago, I was standing in a line at Starbucks in Calgary and realized the person at the front of the line was Sheldon Kennedy. To refresh your memory, he's the NHL hockey player who skated across Canada bringing awareness to victims of sexual abuse. Anyway, I noticed he said something to the barista, and discovered that it was to buy coffee for the next 10 people in line. I will always remember my free cup of joe courtesy of that simple act of kindness and generosity.
Now, I try to do the right thing whenever I can, but sometimes it takes a conscious effort. So I started the week the Sheldon Kennedy way, at Starbucks. There are different ways to do this. I'm not a fan of the "pay it forward chain" like the one that lasted 11 hours and eventually resulted in one guy breaking the chain at Number 458. To me, that's one person doing a nice thing and 458 people paying for a coffee like they would on any other day. I decided to make mine a little more obvious. On 4 separate trips, I asked the people in line if anyone wanted a simple grande dark roast. I had two takers. I chalked that up as one good thing. and like Haley Joel Osment's character in the movie, I wanted to complete a total of 3.
Our neighbour Debbie is always baking cookies and bringing them to us. She loves to bake, but doesn't eat sweet stuff, so we're happy to help. But that is not my act of kindness. One day, she told us her two nieces were coming to visit and she was scrambling for things to do. I looked over to my kitchen counter and to a pair of tickets to the IMAX theatre that I was planning to use for our own kids. The "right thing to do" just leapt out at me, probably because I was consciously thinking about paying it forward.
The third act came completely unexpectedly as I was walking down a Victoria street and saw a wallet lying on the sidewalk. I guess the opposite of doing the right thing in this situation would be to actually commit a criminal act and keep the wallet. So I wanted to do a little more than simply take the wallet to the police station and hope it would find its way to its owner. I checked out the name on the credit card, Roberto Alberto. Being a "Robbie" myself, I felt an instant connection and began a Facebook search. Turned out my guy is a young UVic student, and that he works at the Bard & Banker half a block from my office. So now he has his wallet back and I have a new Facebook friend.
It occurred to me that much of my Goodness52 journey has been pretty selfish, about trying to mould myself into a better person. With weeks like this one, I realize I could be doing something for other people along my journey, and there are so many good reasons for doing that. I came to a similar realization after running 8 marathons solely for myself and watching thousands of other runners supporting charities and making a difference. So when I ran my ninth one (London in 2016) I ran it for a charity called Sense. We ran with a huge group that included blind athletes, and let me tell you, nothing is more satisfying than crossing a finish line when you share it with other people who have stories much more compelling than yours.
Whether it's paying it forward, supporting a charity, volunteering or simply doing a favour for someone, I'm hoping to keep the good deed train chugging down the tracks.
Full steam ahead!
Next week: Transcribing the letters of Susan B. Anthony!
The author Catherine Ryan Hyde has given a wonderful phrase to humanity: Pay it Forward. More than just a best-selling book and Hollywood star vehicle, it's a stirring call to action. So I spent a week that I hope will become the rest of my life, simply doing good things for others that I might otherwise have not done.
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| Bathroom wall inspiration at Cup of Joe, Victoria |
About 5 years ago, I was standing in a line at Starbucks in Calgary and realized the person at the front of the line was Sheldon Kennedy. To refresh your memory, he's the NHL hockey player who skated across Canada bringing awareness to victims of sexual abuse. Anyway, I noticed he said something to the barista, and discovered that it was to buy coffee for the next 10 people in line. I will always remember my free cup of joe courtesy of that simple act of kindness and generosity.
Now, I try to do the right thing whenever I can, but sometimes it takes a conscious effort. So I started the week the Sheldon Kennedy way, at Starbucks. There are different ways to do this. I'm not a fan of the "pay it forward chain" like the one that lasted 11 hours and eventually resulted in one guy breaking the chain at Number 458. To me, that's one person doing a nice thing and 458 people paying for a coffee like they would on any other day. I decided to make mine a little more obvious. On 4 separate trips, I asked the people in line if anyone wanted a simple grande dark roast. I had two takers. I chalked that up as one good thing. and like Haley Joel Osment's character in the movie, I wanted to complete a total of 3.
The third act came completely unexpectedly as I was walking down a Victoria street and saw a wallet lying on the sidewalk. I guess the opposite of doing the right thing in this situation would be to actually commit a criminal act and keep the wallet. So I wanted to do a little more than simply take the wallet to the police station and hope it would find its way to its owner. I checked out the name on the credit card, Roberto Alberto. Being a "Robbie" myself, I felt an instant connection and began a Facebook search. Turned out my guy is a young UVic student, and that he works at the Bard & Banker half a block from my office. So now he has his wallet back and I have a new Facebook friend.
It occurred to me that much of my Goodness52 journey has been pretty selfish, about trying to mould myself into a better person. With weeks like this one, I realize I could be doing something for other people along my journey, and there are so many good reasons for doing that. I came to a similar realization after running 8 marathons solely for myself and watching thousands of other runners supporting charities and making a difference. So when I ran my ninth one (London in 2016) I ran it for a charity called Sense. We ran with a huge group that included blind athletes, and let me tell you, nothing is more satisfying than crossing a finish line when you share it with other people who have stories much more compelling than yours.
Whether it's paying it forward, supporting a charity, volunteering or simply doing a favour for someone, I'm hoping to keep the good deed train chugging down the tracks.
Full steam ahead!
Next week: Transcribing the letters of Susan B. Anthony!
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