Ordering flowers for someone’s funeral can get very costly these days. Besides after a while flowers wither and die too, including live plants that are forgotten to be watered.
There’s a remarkable new way to remember your loved ones without spending a fortune at the florist. A good friend of mine recently passed away; she was well-loved and lived a good, long life worthy of remembrance. When I received the sad news about her death, I immediately called the family, wishing to offer my condolences, and asked if they preferred flowers or a donation to a favorite charity. To my surprise, the family requested, in lieu of flowers or a donation to a charity, that people simply pay it forward. In other words, they asked people to donate to or help someone else, preferably a stranger, who is in need without expecting anything in return. What a novel idea.
Even donating to a charity in someone’s name is a form of paying it forward, albeit a little less personal way. In these tough economic times, investing more in “good will” and spending less on material things is a good way to lift our spirits and lift someone else in the process for a better world. It really doesn’t’ take much to make a difference or to make someone else smile.
On my way to work one morning I would often see the same street beggar on a corner asking for money. Invariably, I would routinely drop a few coins in his outstretched cup without thinking about him and hurriedly move along my way. He would always smile and say thank you. Then after several months of going through the same motions, I decided to stop and ask the beggar’s name before I put money in his cup. He looked up, stuttered, and answered, “David.” And then he added, “No one has ever asked me my name before. They just keep walking and act like I don’t exist.” I smiled, put a $5 bill in his cup and said, “Well, David, my name is Serling. Good to meet you and I will see you tomorrow.” David smiled and said, “Thank you, Mr. Serling.”
Now $5 isn’t much but that’s not the point of the story. The real point is that I made a human connection to David by merely asking his name and acknowledging his existence. I also gave him my name so he could acknowledge my existence in return. What better way to lift someone’s spirit and let them know they matter by validating their being? Without realizing it, I had practiced a simple form of paying it forward.
There are many ways to pay it forward. Paying it forward is only limited by one’s imagination. There are also now many organizations that assist us in paying it forward to others in need. Simply conduct an internet search and you will find many reputable ones to assist you with helping others.
When you think about it, paying it forward is not such a novel idea after all. It just seems that way because many of us have become so selfish and rarely think of others. Paying it forward is an integral part of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.