Lent started today and traditionally, people give things up, something about sacrifice..but as I don't really like giving things up, I decided to take something on during Lent. Everyday I will try to do 1 act of kindness anonymously. I will blog about it, which may take away from the anonymity factor, but only if those people read my blog, right?
So today I took the suggestion of my friend, Laura, and I tweaked it a bit. She recommended I pay for the food of someone behind me at a drive thru and I was all set, until Soph said she wanted a bagel and we were at Einstein Brothers and I realized I could pay for someone's food there (this might be hard at some places, but at Einstein's, you order at one station, pay at another, so it was perfect!). I was all set, told the woman who works there what I needed to do and in came a customer. He ordered a muffin. That's it. I wanted to tell him, "No, order more, it's on me!" but of course that would've taken away from the anonymity. So I paid the $2.10 and wondered if I should pay for the next person to make up for the paltry tab of guy #1.
I ended up leaving it as is and realized that it really isn't about the amount we give, it really, really is the gesture. One of my favorite memories is when a student of mine brought me pussy willows months after I casually told my class I liked them. She picked them from her yard that morning and gave them to me. That gesture, 19 years later, still touches me greatly.
If you're reading this, please give me a suggestion...I've got 39 more days to go and I'm looking for creativity!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Here we are, living in Utah and it's not as weird as people think...most of the time!
Abe Said it Best
"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion."
Three Dog Night
About Me
Top Books
- Freakonomics
- Tested
- The Alphabet Tree
- Helping Me Help Myself
- A Prayer for Owen Meany
- A Widow for One Year
- While I Was Gone
- Frederick
- The Picture of Dorian Gray
- The Namesake
Favorite Movies
- You've Got Mail
- Wordplay
- Love Actually
- Lars and the Real Girl
- Notting Hill
- Kolya
- The Station Agent
- Before Sunrise/Before Sunset
- The Sound of Music
- The Goodbye Girl
4 comments:
Very cool goal.
Here's a good deed: hire the perfect director for the MCC! :)
It is the gesture for sure. I was driving Eric to school and this guy was walking to his car and looked over at me and smiled. That was it, I caught it and smiled at the next person I saw.
You could do that toy exchange thing. That is such a cute idea.
Adam - I'm on it!
Linda - I remember driving to work when I was 17 (so ya know, just a few years ago...) and being in a bad mood and some woman was speed walking and smiled at me. That was it! Improved my mood and made a lasting impression. A smile is the best give ever.
Heather, This is awesome! I have been looking for things to write about on my 365 day challenge and this will fit nicely for the month of April! Thank you and it has been a pleasure reading your blog!
Post a Comment