The Two G's to a happy life.

In honor of Kathy's paying it forward.  I am re-posting this... most of you haven't read it, it was one of my first posts.

Okay, well maybe there are 3 if we are going to count "the spot", but that's a whole different post..(to come (no pun intended), I promise).  But, for now I want to rave about what I like to call "The Two G's".

                                  Gratitude and Generosity

I have worked through my sadness and frustration of yesterday's bleak view of the world provided by Fox.  I began thinking about how Grateful I am for the "riches" with which I have been blessed.  Gratitude always brings me home.  Back on track, back in focus.

I can impact my little corner of the world.  I choose to do this with Generosity.

Generosity is a funny thing.  I truly believe that most of us humans are Generous by nature.... we just don't know how to go about sharing it.  Being Generous to a stranger, has become somewhat, well, uncomfortable.  We have a natural instinct to perform random acts of kindness, but something stops us... what is it?

Right after 9/11, I was in line at a Trader Joe's.  A man behind me had just a protein bar to buy. I told the cashier to include it in my purchase.  A simple gesture, to save him time, spread some good will, you know, Generosity.  What happened next was well, odd.  

First of all, the cashier acted as though I had made my request in Latin.  This act of me paying for someone else's item threw him for a serious loop.  He stuttered, stammered, asked me to clarify.  Then asked the recipient of my G, the gentleman behind me, if it was okay that I purchase his energy bar for him.

This in turn confused my "victim" ... thankfully, only for a moment, because the next moment was amazing.  This man, (I think he was a construction worker) literally embraced me.  Yes, put his arms around me and then announced to the rest of the small, intimate market what I had done.  People were clapping, smiling... it was totally surreal.  We are talking about a $3 item, but a gesture that was priceless to everyone in that Trader Joe's during a time when we Americans felt like the rug had been pulled out from beneath us.

I have made similar gestures since then, none of course with the same elaborate response.  In fact, some people get physically uncomfortable when on the receiving end of random Generosity.  This only confirms my belief that its not that we humans aren't Generous, it's that somewhere we lost our ability to be Gracious when Generosity is unexpectedly thrown our way.  

So I challenge you, I urge you, I double-dog dare you!  Go forth and be Generous.  Spend a day being Gracious!  Don't worry about that moment of shock and awkwardness, as it gives way to something wonderful... a real, human connection.

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