| I found a twenty dollar bill on the ground the other day. I’ve been on a tighter than usual budget the last month so thanked my lucky stars for the opportunity to spend more on others.
First few bucks were spent opportunistically: anonymously adding to the funds of an older man who went into a gas station counting bills and asking for ten dollars if gas. That kind of thing.
Last night I walked down the street after work and saw a woman selling a newspaper published for homeless folks. She also had some fridge magnets for sale.
"What’s your most popular magnet?" I asked.
"Oh, probably the Bob Marley. This John Coltrane one is really nice too," she said. "I’m surprised it hasn’t gone yet. They’re five dollars each."
I counted the remains of the cash. "Here’s nine dollars," I said.
"Which one would you like?"
"I don’t need one myself, but the next person that wants one, it’s on me. An anonymous friend." I gave her the nine dollars plus a Smile card.
Her expression just lit up. "Oh I do that all the time!" she said, getting the spirit right away. "I just can’t help being generous, my heart tells me to! Just earlier today a young lady wanted one and only had fifty cents and I gave it to her."
I was glad that my gift would help her to keep giving according to her spirit, or take care of some of her own needs.
She went on to share how not everyone showed kindness to her, how earlier someone driving by had yelled profanity at her but that she chose not to have negative thoughts about it. "And now here’s God sending you as a sign that that was the right choice!"
 I wasn’t sure if that was exact math, but according to my understanding that’s more or less how it works. 🙂
Add/View Comment >> |
Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal 
Leave a Reply