One day I was walking down the street with a friend and we saw someone who worked for Oxfam who asked us if we'd donate money to feed children in Africa. I said I couldn't give money but I could give her a hug, I did so, she smiled and we walked on. I've done that a few times now. It makes me feel good inside. I figure that if I can make these aid workers feel good and happy, that might give them extra energy to get more people to give money. I somehow feel that by helping give them an extra jolt of energy, I've indirectly helped feed starving children.
Some spontaneous things have happened to me as well. Once I was in a coffee shop and I ordered a drink and went to pay and the cashier said that the coffee was free, the person ahead of me gave her money to pay for the next person's drink. He didn't know who the next person would be and he didn't know me. He inspired me and sometimes now, when I do feel like being philanthropic I go into a coffee shop (usually around Thanksgiving or Christmas) and follow that stranger's example by paying for someone's drink, just for the heck of it.
Paying it forward has also paid off for me at times. Once near Christmas, I was walking down the street by the Boston Opera House and there was a Salvation Army guy outside the building ringing a bell and asking for donations. I put some money in the box he had and when I did so he pushed something into my hand. It turned out to be a ticket to that night's Boston Pops Holiday Concert! I'd never been to one before so I had a wonderful time that night.
I've found that that doing something random that I haven't done a lot of (or ever in my life) has led to some pretty cool things. They've made me believe that random acts of kindness are sometimes the best things to do, even if they seem a bit crazy at the time. Then again, if some action taken serves to help someone else, perhaps it's not such a crazy thing to do after all.
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