Pay it Forward

Among the many ‘regulars’ in my apartment block is this bunch of elderly ladies who get together and chat for a couple of hours. Most of them sit down on the low concrete platforms built for the purpose, but one always has the security guard bring her a plastic chair. We know the ladies are there, but they are so much a part of the landscape nobody really pays much heed to them.

Yesterday, the lady who sits on the chair arrived a little early. Her friends hadn’t come yet, and she was standing near the platform waiting for them to arrive.

A six year old was loitering nearby, waiting for his friend to come. He saw the lady standing, brought the chair out, and asked her to sit. She patted him on the cheek and said thank you. He blushed, and ran away.

I did not witness it, but when I heard about it, my heart swelled with pride. The six-year was my son, and his instinctive act of kindness gave me more pleasure than I may have got if he topped in class.

Call it ‘Random Acts of Kindness”, as I do, or “Pay it Forward” as B. Miller does, but I do believe in the power of doing something selfless for someone you have absolutely no expectations from. It invariably creates a ripple effect- whether you ask the person to ‘pay it forward’ or not, he person you have been nice to is invariably nice to someone else, and that person is good to someone else in turn. The circle may or may not close back on you, but it does increase the total amount of happiness floating around.

B. Miller is also running a Pay it Forward giveaway – further details here.