Help Wanted / Given

Pay it Forward?

What does it mean to you? In the society that we live, is it worth paying it forward?

OK, First let me explain to you what I think Pay it forward is and how it works.

Pay it forward – To give some of yourself and or ability to someone that is in need without requiring anything in return. Then that person is to do the same thing to someone else.  Eventually the Paid forward will come full circle and someone will pay it forward back to you.

I personally think that this only works with person/s that have been raised to be generous and always think of others before themselves. In my short life time I have seen only a few people that were like this and those people were very humble and were willing to do anything without any complaints.

Example:

I recently had to re-sod my front yard because the drought and chinch bugs killed my lawn so I rented a tiller and ordered a couple pallets of grass. I put on my work clothes and boots and tilled the front lawn on one day and started to lay out my grass squares the next day. A neighbor and his wife had just happened to be walking by my house and the husband stopped and asked me if I needed any help? I said, "no, I’m good I can do it." He insisted, and said "I’ll be right back after I get home from my walk with my wife and I will change over and come help you". I said "Okay, but you really don’t have too."

I totally thought this guy is not going to do it. This was some hard labor. It’s like 100+- degrees and I was burning up. I continued to do my lawn work and about 45 minutes later he showed up and began to help me out. It was also at this time, my wife also came outside to help lay the grass with me as well.

I wanted to pay this guy back, take him out to dinner or something. I couldn’t just let him just do all this hard work and not get anything in return. I told him "I have a case of beer in the frig. You can have for helping me." He said “I don’t drink.” I said I’ll take you out to eat anything you want to eat, just name it. He said there is nothing that he wanted to eat and that he didn’t want anything. I said come on you want something. I wanted to pay him something. 2~ hours later we finished laying out the grass and later he went home.

To this day I still want to pay him back, I just don’t know where he lives or what his name was.

It just seems that people like that neighbor are few far and in between. Or simply just don’t exist. I have seen more times than not people that just take advantage of people like that. These "users" just run them into the ground, an never give a second thought to think about the other person or at least try to do something for them.

I find myself thinking of things that I can do to help my friends. Like if they say they are having a hard time or need to do tasks that I know that I can help with. I end up volunteering myself to help them complete their tasks.

I have found my self staying late to help someone out at work off the clock just to be nice. Or just hang out with some of my co-workers when they have the late shift because I know how much it sucks to sit in an empty building with no one there just the hum of the lights and computer systems.

I am only looking for one thing in return, gratitude.

I just wonder if there are people out there that think like I do. Am I a fool for helping people?

Sometimes I feel like why should I bother helping people out if all I get in return is more “tasks” to complete.

Leave a comment below and tell me what you think, I really would like to know.