PAY IT FORWARD
10:26 p.m. - 2002-03-02
had a better day today. i helped someone and it felt so good. i don't want to tell anyone in real life but i do want to tell anyone who reads this what i did because it really works.
i was at the grocery and the guy in front of me ran out of cash. the only thing he couldn't afford was a $2.99 pie. i just told him 'ya gotta have pie' and after some refusal, i just asked the cashier to scan the pie on my bill. both of them told me 'i can't believe you are doing this" and i just kept saying 'it's only $2.99, what's a sunday morning without pie"
and that's what i thought the split second i had before he left. i saw this guy put most of his groceries on the counter, and left a few in the cart. then i realized what he was doing - one by one he was taking items out and the checkout lady was punching them in, letting him know how much closer he was to his limit. yogurt, cereal, then all i saw left was the pie. i don't think he was down on his luck or anything - just looked like your average man in his 30's who probably just miscalculated how much cash to spend for the food (we've all done that). i almost said 'now what's your wife going to say if you don't come home with a pie' but i quickly looked and his wedding finger was naked. it was one of the first times in a long time i heard a 'thank you' that sounded so much more sincere than just politeness. then when he left the cashier told me that she felt like she was almost going to cry, and definitely tell her daughter what i did, because she needs to hear that there are people like me in the world.
i was the one who left the store in tears.
got in the car and took a few deep breaths, i realized i was trying to make myself stop crying (cause i'm so used to that automatic reaction to try and stop it). but i finally let myself cry for the right reasons. i cried with a smile on my face, and thanked God that had the courage to let myself feel happy about what i did. 'accept it' i said to myself 'you deserve these good feelings about yourself, and you do have the courage and strength to be a good person'
i can't even tell you how good it feels to do something totally random like that.
KARMA WORKS! PAY IT FORWARD, BABY!!
PAY IT FORWARD - 2002-03-02
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