Published December 11, 2018
GET REAL ABOUT 2020 & #PAYITFORWARD!
Lest any of us forget, there are some principles to keep in mind, as well as souls who should not be neglected – especially now. Try offering something to someone who expects nothing. You might be pleased to know it costs little to nothing to pay it forward, and surprised by how lifting up someone else can do the same for you.
GIVE TO CHARITY
It’s the least you can do, right? Give a little something-something to somebody who could use it.
GIVE YOUR TIME
Time is the most valuable asset you can give, whether to your friends and family or the underfed and overwhelmed.
• Is your second-grader in a classroom with 29 other kids? Maybe the teacher can use a helping hand.
• Do you have grown children who now have young’uns of their own? Maybe they’d like to get out for a grown-up celebration—if they could only find a babysitter.
• There’s got to be a church, community center or homeless shelter that would appreciate help in their soup kitchen or delivering meals to the homebound.
DO SOMETHING NICE
Where family is concerned, the absence of naughtiness passes for nice. However, there probably are people, some of whom you encounter nearly every day, or even have come to depend on for one thing or another, but never thought to thank properly.
• Bring a big latte to the school crossing guard. Bake cookies for your mail carrier.
• When you make a big dinner, make extra for the lonely widower next door.
• Did a patch of ice put your neighbor on crutches, leaving her powder keg of a Dalmatian in desperate need of exercise? Maybe you can stand to do a few laps around the block yourself.
• Have you lost the stamina to party ‘til you drop, but have friends who still have (and drink) the spirit? Be a designated driver.
• Somewhere in the world, there is an active military service member who misses shoveling snow, eating mom’s cooking and being surrounded by friendlies in puffy parkas. One heartfelt letter slipped into a greeting card can make a difference in an otherwise routine day. Thank them for their service in words more meaningful than “thank you for your service.”
DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Establish a new family custom.
• If you have friends and coworkers of different religions, have an interfaith get together. Have every religion represented by a favorite food, ritual or prayer. Dinner is guaranteed to be more interesting than it’s ever been.
• Find an animal rescue group and foster a critter. Dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens and Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs need love too.
• Give your kids experiences, not stuff. Things break or get lost. Memories last a lifetime. #PayItForward
