Pay it Forward

I’ve always been a big believer in random acts of kindness.

For a while, in college, when it was popular, I was into the Operation Beautiful movement. I loved creating notes and putting them everywhere I went, hoping it would put a smile on someone’s face.

And then I started making a point of letting others cars go before me, letting pedestrians cross the street, waving and thanking someone when they let ME cross the street, smiling and saying “thank you” to cashiers in stores, saying hello to people who made eye contact with me on the street or in a hallway, etc.

I love the idea of doing small things like that, because they add up (I think). I feel good when I do one of the above, and I hope it makes even one person think, “Wow, there are still some good people in this world.” But it’s not enough! What more can we do? What other random acts of kindness, or “pay it forward” acts can we do? I want to do more.

What do YOU do? Any ideas?