Pay it forward

What if a person helps you and doesn't want any help in return ? What if that person asks you not to help him/her but to help three other persons ? What if that person asks you to ask the person you help to help three more persons, to pay it forward ? What if that person is a perfect stranger to you ?

They say we can not change the world. True. We can not. But we can at least try to do whatever we can. The goodness and faith in humans aren't that much rare component I suppose. I remember one poem from Shri Robindranath Tagore’s Stray birds.

"Who is there to take up my duties?" asked the setting sun.

"I shall do what I can, my Master," said the earthen lamp.

Does it seem a nice idea ? Well, only if it can be implemented. Three is just a count. But if we really want, we can go for as big number as possible, or may be we can make it a point to live it throughout our life. But, the work should be something real big. It can be as big as giving a smile in the morning to a stranger who looks sad. It can be as simple as patching up with your best friend or your father, who you know love you very much but because of some incident you stopped talking with. It can be as hard as giving your seat to someone who really needs it in a bus. It can be as weird as sharing a part of your hard-earned money with God’s those sons who require your blessings to survive. It can be as difficult as working honestly in our job without taking bribe, without wasting time. It can be as grand as living a life full of Love, Joy, care, empathy so that each moment of your life can touch many known and unknown persons and take a tiny step in making this world a bit better.

Let’s see how we can do it. Make a wish on this eve of new year. Let us start this small movement of paying the good works forward. Let us touch everybody whom we meet. Remember, no man is an island. The very favor which you started can end up reaching you through unknown ways.

This idea was first created by Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of novel Pay It Forward, which was later on used to make Warner Brothers movie.