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The concept of “Paying it Forward” goes back a long way and was used by authors, playwrights, and even Benjamin Franklin. It was popular notion that for each good deed done for someone, that person should it turn “repay it” to others instead of the original person.
What a wonderful and positive idea to feel blessed and send something nice on to others. It can be as simple as having someone opening a door for you and you in turn helping the next person you encounter struggling with something and jumping in to help. Maybe you get a nice text from a friend and you in turn send a nice email to a friend you know has been down lately. It’s a great thing to watch and even greater to be the one paying the good deed on.
So when did it all shift? Yes, people are still “paying it forward”, but in a very different way. This country was founded on independence and differing views and opinions. But somewhere along the line, views and opinions have become a reason to treat others with actual hatred. Not just, you support something I disagree with, but tremendous loathing towards one another just because outlooks and interpretations differ.
From disrespectful language between friends, to shooting another over a taken item, or leaving nasty posts on social media, when did this become the accepted repayment to society? Are we no longer deserving of kindness, respect and good deeds? It’s as if “paying it forward” now means that “I’ll get you before you get me” or “I’ll crush your ideals and structures because they don’t fit me” or “I must hate you because we are different”. Why are we despising each other so much? Humankind has become a relationship gone extremely wrong.
Just as I was feeling really down and wondering how we all got here, I came across something that gave me hope. It was a news post about a little boy named Jayden Lamb who had cancer and had passed away. Shortly after his passing, his parents decided to buy coffee for the people in line behind them, just as a small way of remembering the little boy’s spirit. An amazing thing took place. Those people receiving the gift continued the giving on, and in turn, it has kept going on and on and has even come back around to where the parents received a kind act as well in the name of their son. How powerful!!
A challenge to us all: Let’s try to only pay forward the good deeds, and make showing kindness to one another in style again. Let’s work on positive relationships instead of wasting our energy on the negative. Yes, we are all imperfect, but we can definitely do better. A small child, who possessed kindness in his heart in life, inspired an entire community full of adults after passing. What a lesson from God. It was exactly what this soul needed. Just hearing the story, Jayden and his family accomplished “paying it forward” to me. Thank you for making this girl still believe.
cmtreadway 