By now we’re one week into our New Year’s resolutions right? I have not eaten a chocolate chip cookie in a week and thank God the holiday gingerbread iced cake slices are gone from Starbucks, making my goal a little easier here! But as followers of the Bohemian lifestyle, is that what our resolutions should be? Let’s dig deeper into this.
I was upgrading my wardrobe last week at a men’s store and getting ready to purchase several business suits. My wife was making sure the cashier was ringing up all the correct amounts when a total stranger walked up and handed her $100.00 in store coupons. The man told my wife he noticed we were making a large purchase and hoped it would help. He smiled and then continued on with his shopping.
My wife looked at me and we both stood there in shock. The man walked by me and shook hands with me as he headed to the back of the shop. That kind of generosity is seldom seen and needs to be more prevalent, I believe. It was obvious the gentleman was going to purchase items also, so what moved him to give us those coupons?
Friends, consider this; pay it forward. Let’s spread compassion and generosity this year. I’m not saying give cash and coupons away. I’m saying give from the heart. Make an extra effort to open the door for a lady, let someone know when they drop something or smile more. I have learned that people that yell the loudest about charity are doing it for the wrong reasons. Do right from the heart. You will know when you have done the right thing because your heart will feel it.
The next item for a good Bohemian resolution is writing. I have made a commitment to write better. I want to pull words from my soul, my experiences, and life to share with others. I am so moved when someone tells me they were touched by a story or poem they read from me. If one person was helped, I have combined paying it forward with writing, mission accomplished.
I want to give people a story that helps them with an issue they are dealing with or a small window of escape from everyday life. My mom tells me that when she reads my writing it is like someone is flashing pictures in her mind. I guess that’s good right?
So my friends, here’s to heartfelt generosity and better writing from me! I hope I put pictures in your mind and they are all good. Happy New Year!
January 5, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Pay it forward is a wonderful concept. I remember it well from my younger days (much younger!). And I help run 3 chapters of an organization which believes in “pay it forward” very much. They are a self-training organization, but they assign each new member a mentor. And once the new member has gone through most of the basic education/training, one of their tasks is to mentor a new member. Ideally, they will mentor several (and so we grow). But at the very least, having been mentored and helped in their learning process, they are expected to mentor and help someone else’s learning process … paying it forward.
January 5, 2013 at 4:48 pm
As a new fiction author, I strongly agree with you. We should all resolve to learn how to write better. Last year, I went to a writer’s workshop, in which a number of authors were “paying it forward”, teaching the new crop of writers. And just before Thanksgiving, I received an hour of training from my friend Roberta Ley (author of 4 books). I hope eventually to be so good that I can teach others how to write fiction for printed publication (I already believe that I am qualified to teach people how to do it verbally, although not as good as Robi).
January 13, 2013 at 2:40 pm
My partner and I stumbled over here by a different web address
and thought I should check things out. I like what I
see so now i’m following you. Look forward to looking at your web page again.
January 14, 2013 at 8:37 am
Thx!