Saturday, January 23, 2016

Generosity: Wonderstruck

This challenge dealt with generosity. And surprise.  The book suggested giving gift cards to unsuspecting people, but we live so close to the bone that really wasn't an option.

To celebrate my 50th birthday, I wanted to do something different. Something altruistic. Again, there's the lack of money. I asked all my Facebook friends to do a random act of kindness in my honor while my family and I did fifty (or more) acts of kindness during my birthday week. This was surprisingly generous ... to us!

We would make a fifteen minute trip to the library but put two hours worth of coins in the meter.  Pay for the coffee refill of the elderly man at McDonald's. Hold the door. We got the biggest kick out of engaging strangers in conversation, or just giving a smile to someone who looked like he needed one. Random acts of kindness are akin to good manners. They are a form of generosity. They are unexpected, more's the pity, by the receiver. And they grant the giver an opportunity to be wonderstruck!

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