Pay It Forward

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In Catherine Ryan Hyde's book and the movie it is described as an obligation to do three good deeds for others in response to a good deed that one receives. Such good deeds should accomplish things that the other person cannot accomplish on their own. In this way, the practice of helping one another can spread geometrically through society, at a ratio of three to one, creating a social movement with an impact of making the world a better place.
I was completely struck by this movie.  I bawled at the ending, it seemed so wrong for the message the movie sends.  For some reason, this concept, which was not new at the time the movie became popular, was new to me.  I had taken a personality survey and came up as altruistic.  I didn't even know what the word meant.  Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. I was totally blow away by this assessment.  I was going through a lot of self awareness and assessment at the time.  This personality quiz was something my therapist at the time gave me to learn about who I was so I could better prepare and react to the personality types of others.  Apparently the way I answered the questions made me seem selfless.  I never ever perceived myself this way.  But from this day forward, I wanted to BE altruistic.  I wanted to be the kid in this movie.  Believing in the innocence and love that people who need a helping hand should feel.  I wanted to practice random acts of kindness all the time.  This was a revelation to me.  Maybe I had been acting this way, but this was when I actually realized it.  I was 35 years old.  
Every day I drive I-20 to work.  The curve from 20 onto 75/85 there is always a homeless man on that curve panhandling.  I know that he is a part of the larger community of homeless people that live under the bridges in the Brookwood interchange.  I don't always have things to give him, but sometimes I give him a bottle of water when I have it.  He is always so grateful, and says God Bless you.  And I think to myself, may God bless YOU.  On days when I don't have anything to give him, he still waves at me.  On days when he is not there, I worry something has happened to him.  I beat myself up because I don't invite him to come home and live in my garage to get back on his feet like Haley Joel Osmet did in Pay it Forward.  I know they say 'be the change you want to see in this world' and 'think globally, act locally'.  Somehow it still doesn't feel like enough.  

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