December 16, 2018

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.” – Sally Koch

“The willingness to share does not make one charitable; it makes one free.” – Robert Brault

What an inspiring week it’s been for me!  After the blog with your annual Pay it Forward Challenge stories came out two weeks ago, many readers were inspired to step it up even MORE to show their gratitude for their many blessings in life by spreading charity, emotional support, kindness and joy to others. 

Here are some of my favorites from all the new stories shared with me:

In the News:

My favorite two stories from the daily GoodNewsNetwork.org emails I subscribe to were these:

  • Kelsey Rae Zwick had been flying from Orlando to Philadelphia with her 11-month-old daughter Lucy earlier this week. Since the baby suffers from chronic lung disease, the two of them were heading to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for treatment.

“I was pushing a stroller, had a diaper bag on my arm and also lugging an oxygen machine for my daughter,” wrote Zwick in an open Facebook letter to the passenger. “We had smiles on our faces as we were headed to see her ‘friends’ at CHOP.”

As they settled into their pre-boarded seats, Zwick was stunned to be approached by a flight attendant who said that a man in first class (an Executive Platinum frequent flyer) wanted to switch seats with her.

“Not able to hold back tears, I cried my way up the aisle while my daughter Lucy laughed!” Zwick  wrote to the kind stranger. “Thank you.  Not just for the seat itself but for noticing. For seeing us and realizing that maybe things are not always easy. For deciding you wanted to show a random act of kindness to US. It reminded me how much good there is in this world. I can’t wait to tell Lucy someday. In the meantime… we will pay it forward.”

  • When a young boy mailed a birthday card to his father in heaven earlier this month,he was surprised – and comforted – to get a response. Since his father passed away four years ago, 7-year-old Jase Hyndman in Scotland mailed the card as a means of wishing his dad a happy birthday.

Instead of an address on the front of the envelope, however, Jase simply wrote: “Mr. Postman, can you take this to heaven for my dad’s birthday. Thanks.”

Assistant delivery office manager Sean Milligan from the UK’s Royal Mail service wrote a response to reassure the youngster that his card was in good hands.

“Dear Jase,” reads the letter, “While we’ve been delivering your post, we’ve become aware of some concerns. So I just wanted to take this opportunity to contact you about how we succeeded in the delivery of your letter, to your dad in heaven. This was a difficult challenge avoiding stars and other galactic objects on route to heaven. I will continue to do all I can to ensure delivery to heaven safely,” it concluded.

“I actually cannot state how emotional he is, knowing his dad got his card,” his mother wrote on Facebook, praising Royal Mail UK. “You didn’t have to make the effort to do this. You could have just ignored it, but the fact that you have made the effort for a little boy you’ve never met is such a lovely thing to do. Royal Mail, you’ve just restored my faith in humanity and thank you – it honestly means the world to him.”

Here are some of your own wonderful PIF random and planned acts of kindness:

  • One reader and her husband, who spend part of each year living in Mexico, take a percentage of their income every month and put it into their personal giving fund, out of which they donate to a local orphanage and an educational scholarship fund to help students go to university. Occasionally, when they come across an individual in need, they are happy to be able to say, “Let me look into our giving fund and see what we can do.”
  • Another reader purchased two extra $10 Target gift cards and gave them to the cashier to pick two random shoppers to bestow them on. “Her reaction alone was worth it!”the reader wrote.  “She was so honored to be the cashier to disperse our presents.”
  • One reader and her business Team headed up a big drive to collect diapers and baby wipes for a women and children’s shelter. Team members who delivered the supplies also took time to decorate Christmas cookies with the kids.
  • A reader told me that a customer of hers is a single mom going through a tough time financially.  She is planning to give her a generous pre-paid Visa card through a go-between, so the customer won’t know who her “Secret Santa” is.
  • A group of “Mom’s Club” Facebook friends teamed up to adopt a family and get their six year old child a bunch of wonderful Christmas presents.
  • My client was in a long line at a grocery store that only takes debit cards or cash.  A woman two carts ahead of her was struggling to find a viable payment option and people behind her were growing impatient.  My client stepped forward and said, “I got you,” paying for her items with a debit card.  The astonished woman exclaimed, “Thank you, but why would you do that for me?!” and my client just said, “I know you will pay it forward next time.”
  • An oncology nurse started a lovely giving tradition that has grown and grown over the past several years. She originally wanted to create some simple “goodie bags” filled with candy and cookies, etc. for cancer patients who were in the hospital over Christmas.  Other departments got wind of it and jumped in with their own goodies to add.  Soon, her little goodie bags had grown into the Christmas Basket Campaign, including a volunteer Santa and Mrs. Claus to pass them out and carolers to entertain, that even got coverage by a local news station. A man whose late wife had received one of the Christmas Baskets sent the hospital a note and a $500 check with his thanks, helping to ensure the program that had lifted her spirits during a very dark time would continue. 
  • One reader said her two daughters’ individual Girl Scout troops made lunches for a shelter kitchen and she and each of her girls took a shift, so she got to participate twice.
  • My reader was part of the organizing committee of a big toy drive for a huge annual  Christmas Kindness event, which this year served 154 under privileged or struggling kids and their parents. The event includes a big catered party, a Build a Bear workshop and other fun activities. Besides receiving toys, the kids get to shop at Santa’s Workshop for gifts to give their parents.  One of the families consists of four children who all lived with their aunt until she died of cancer and then their great grandmother, who just went into hospice. “That’s who we’re helping,” she said.
  • One of my clients texted me a picture of her two grandchildren.  They bought five Krispy Kreme Donut gift cards and 10 Cane’s Chicken gift cards at Sam’s Club, and the kids had a ball proclaiming “Merry Christmas,” as they handed them out to random families. “The reactions they got were priceless,”she said.
  • This is my personal favorite reader PIF story, also involving the intuitive generosity of young people: While my client and her boys were waiting in line to go into a rather pricey family fun center, her older son overheard a conversation between a mom and four kids who were behind them.  The mother hadn’t realized how much the tickets cost and she didn’t have enough money for all her kids to go in that day, so she was trying to explain to them that only some of them could go now and others would go some other time.  My client’s son quietly asked her if they could pay for the family so they could all go in together, and she put the other family’s tickets on her credit card.  As she and her sons went in, they looked back to see the astonished expression on the face of the mother, as the cashier explained that her whole family’s entry fee had been pre-paid.  Later, at home, my clients’ sons insisted on paying her back with $20 each that they had been saving.  “They didn’t realize how much the tickets really cost, but that’s a lot of money to them,” she said.  “I am so proud of them for wanting to make that sacrifice for other people they didn’t even know.”

Finally, here’s my own latest PIF demonstration:

Today at Starbucks, I again planned to give my last $5 gift card to the cashier to distribute to someone in line at random,but something told me to hold onto it.  Soon,I noticed a mom with two kids sitting across from us, waiting for their order to come up. The little girl, who was about five or six, spontaneously put both arms around her mother’s neck. The mother hugged her tight, pressing her lips against her daughter’s neck and closed her eyes in a beautiful reverie of pure unconditional love. I was so touched and inspired that on our way out, I put the $5 gift card on their table and said to the mom, “You two are so sweet, Santa told me the next one’s on him.”  She broke into a big, surprised smile and exclaimed “Thank you!” The girl and older boy looked at me with their mouths open, which just made it more fun!

I hope the wide variety of these wonderful Pay It Forward stories will inspire YOU to do even more to make the rest of this year (and far beyond) merry and bright for others. Remember, the thoughts, words, emotions and especially the DEEDS that you express will put the Law of Attraction (“energy attracts like energy”) into ACTION for yourself, as well…. Because the good you do for others is guaranteed to attract more GOOD to you!

PLEASE NOTE: This is the final blog of 2018.  Look for the next Cup of Caroll to arrive on Sunday January 6.  It will be a very special one to help you get your 2019 off to a successful start! In the meantime, I wish a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

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