One of the best movies I ever saw was "Pay it Forward" It was a very simple story, with an even simpler concept.
The movie itself was wonderfully done, with great performances by the actors involved.
But it was the simple concept behind it that really stuck in my mind.
Call it "pay it forward", "acts of random kindness", or just doing the right thing, the concept is so very simple.
The problem is people think that it is only the large things that they do that make a difference in people's lives.
They couldn't be more wrong.
The small acts of kindness make the most difference sometimes.
The basic idea isn't new.
It is actually the way my neighborhood operated when I was a kid.
You help out your neighbors, friends and even complete strangers with no return expected.
We aren't talking about giving away a car, or paying someone's rent here, just little things.
Even at my lowest, broke and on welfare, I found ways to pay it forward.
My neighbors paid it forward to me.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
For awhile there things were really tough for my family.
I had been out of work on disability for 3 months when my husband lost his job.
The only income we had coming in was my disability payments until they ran out after 6 months.
Then we had nothing coming in.
Bills were piling up, rent got more and more behind, and I had no idea where the next meal was coming from.
We were receiving a small welfare payment and food stamps, but that was it.
The only real plus was the $25 gas card we got a week so my husband could go to his "volunteer" job to get our benefits.
One day we were at the gas station filling up and there was a young couple with a child begging for a few bucks to put in their car that had run out of gas.
We dropped the last $5 off the gas card for the week in their tank.
They offered to send us the money, but we told them to simply help someone else out when they could.
"Pay it Forward.
" Another time the grandmother of one of my daughters' school friends realized how much we were struggling.
We tried not to advertise or ask for help, but word gets out.
A lot of the other kids at school simply picked on her, called her "poor" or gave her crap about seeing mom using food stamps.
This one girl, who my daughter didn't even always get along with, went home and told grandma what was going on.
Now grandma had taken in all 5 of her grand kids and was raising them on her own, so she didn't have it easy herself.
But just as I was staring at an empty pantry once again getting ready to cook ramen noodles for dinner, there was a knock at my door.
There stood that girl from school with her cousin and 2 bags full of groceries.
Not expensive stuff - frozen chicken wings, vegetables, potatoes and a loaf of homemade bread.
It got me through a tight spot.
And she wouldn't take a dime back.
"Paying it forward" can be financial yes.
But more often than not it is simply that small helping hand that someone needs right at that moment.
It can be as simple as taking the neighbor's kid to the park with you so mom can get a break.
It can be passing on your knowledge through a free tutoring program.
You can make extra for dinner one night and take it to the widow who lives alone up the street.
It is about looking for the little things that can touch a person, and doing what you can to pass along what you have, no matter how little it is.
How much better would the world be if we all thought like this?
The movie itself was wonderfully done, with great performances by the actors involved.
But it was the simple concept behind it that really stuck in my mind.
Call it "pay it forward", "acts of random kindness", or just doing the right thing, the concept is so very simple.
The problem is people think that it is only the large things that they do that make a difference in people's lives.
They couldn't be more wrong.
The small acts of kindness make the most difference sometimes.
The basic idea isn't new.
It is actually the way my neighborhood operated when I was a kid.
You help out your neighbors, friends and even complete strangers with no return expected.
We aren't talking about giving away a car, or paying someone's rent here, just little things.
Even at my lowest, broke and on welfare, I found ways to pay it forward.
My neighbors paid it forward to me.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
For awhile there things were really tough for my family.
I had been out of work on disability for 3 months when my husband lost his job.
The only income we had coming in was my disability payments until they ran out after 6 months.
Then we had nothing coming in.
Bills were piling up, rent got more and more behind, and I had no idea where the next meal was coming from.
We were receiving a small welfare payment and food stamps, but that was it.
The only real plus was the $25 gas card we got a week so my husband could go to his "volunteer" job to get our benefits.
One day we were at the gas station filling up and there was a young couple with a child begging for a few bucks to put in their car that had run out of gas.
We dropped the last $5 off the gas card for the week in their tank.
They offered to send us the money, but we told them to simply help someone else out when they could.
"Pay it Forward.
" Another time the grandmother of one of my daughters' school friends realized how much we were struggling.
We tried not to advertise or ask for help, but word gets out.
A lot of the other kids at school simply picked on her, called her "poor" or gave her crap about seeing mom using food stamps.
This one girl, who my daughter didn't even always get along with, went home and told grandma what was going on.
Now grandma had taken in all 5 of her grand kids and was raising them on her own, so she didn't have it easy herself.
But just as I was staring at an empty pantry once again getting ready to cook ramen noodles for dinner, there was a knock at my door.
There stood that girl from school with her cousin and 2 bags full of groceries.
Not expensive stuff - frozen chicken wings, vegetables, potatoes and a loaf of homemade bread.
It got me through a tight spot.
And she wouldn't take a dime back.
"Paying it forward" can be financial yes.
But more often than not it is simply that small helping hand that someone needs right at that moment.
It can be as simple as taking the neighbor's kid to the park with you so mom can get a break.
It can be passing on your knowledge through a free tutoring program.
You can make extra for dinner one night and take it to the widow who lives alone up the street.
It is about looking for the little things that can touch a person, and doing what you can to pass along what you have, no matter how little it is.
How much better would the world be if we all thought like this?
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