This is Sunday and while I was sharing with my wife my previous friendships with people especially when I was in the US then I met an American African friend. This guy was a family man and he used to sell newspapers on the streets in Hyde Park, Chicago. On my way to school I usually passed by his area. As the days went by, I was fortunate to know some details of his life as well as he knew also a part of me.
When he was still on his teens, he lost his left arm on an accident and while coping with this unfortunate situation, it took him a while to accept and own such a condition. Later on, he got married and at that time that I met him, he had three lovely children already. After my program, I went home and a day before I leave the States for home, I left all my winter clothes with him (2 travelling bags). As I did it, he expressed his genuine joy and surprise. Yes they were just material possessions but what was essential for him was my gesture of sharing those items.
Anyway, that experience allowed me to explicitly share goodness to somebody without counting any something in return. As I thought of the experience, I was sharing what is called pay it forward to my friend the blessings that I believed from God and from people. In our life, there are countless times that we become recipients of others’ kindness and when we are in the situation to do it for others, hope that we will not hesitate to grab the opportunity to endow joy for others.
Life after all is a blessing and as such, it is also fitting to positively share it with others most notably to our family, loved ones and for others even for those who are unloveable, deprived, left behind and those who are losing faith in life. What a feeling of JOY when we are able to “pay it forward” to them.
