Leo Babauta of Zen Habits wrote today about paying it forward.? That’s a principle I’ve long tried to follow, and to promote when I do someone a favor and they want to repay me in some way.? If I do a kindness for someone, it’s not because I want something back for myself.? I do it because it’s a kind thing to do, and the good karma I reap from it is reward enough for me.
Paying it forward promotes an awareness of the world around you, and the people you interact with.? If we all were more aware, the world might be a little bit better place for real, not in the fake-nice way that gets too much hype today.
Before I stopped smoking, I would find myself out in the smoking area on campus, and a student would come up and ask to buy a cigarette from me.? I always just gave them one, and told them to “pay it forward” the next time someone asked for a ciggy from them.? My hope was always to just make them think a little bit about something outside of themselves, even if only for a few moments.? Maybe I wasn’t really making the world better, since smoking isn’t a good habit for any of us, but if it relieved a little stress for that person it wasn’t a BAD thing.
We seem to also be getting the “pay it forward” thing going at The Glass Haven,? with the RAOGK (Random Act of Glassy Kindness) and Secret Santa.? I bet there’s someone out there that’s looking for some old odd lot coral glass — a color that never worked for me, but that some folks do magic with…
Re: cigarettes. Of course smoking is bad for you, but I think it’s the principle of paying it forward that’s more important. That was the real message, cigs were just the medium.