Can paying it forward pay off?

My husband and I were having a conversation the other day regarding one of our friends. She has just recently purchased a flower shop; she is without a doubt going to make this flower shop very, very successful. It was on our way home from the flower shop that we began discussing what a wonderful thing this is for her. One of the things we talked about was how sincerely kind she is to people, and how she genuinely, without expecting anything in return, goes out of her way for people.

Our friendship began when she became our realtor while searching for a home in Minnesota. The way we actually contacted each other, as is my life, one of those things that was simply meant to be. I had called my sister who already lives in Minnesota and asked her if she could recommend a good realtor to us. She said she would check and get back to us. As luck would have it, our friend actually walked into the store that my sister manages and struck up a conversation that very day; she mentioned she was a realtor and the rest is history. It did not take long for us to realize that she most definitely knew her stuff. She simply has an air about her that is kind and honest that was truly appealing to us. I guess the point I am trying to make here is that good things really do happen to good people.

Our friend is truly the real deal when it comes to sincerely paying it forward. The real-estate business, as everyone knows, has sucked for quite some time now, however our friend continues to treat her customers the same in the recessed market as she did in the booming market. We were the recipients of her quality when we bought our house. We signed the papers in June of 2005 but did not actually move in until July 30, 2005. During that one month interval our friend anticipated our every need, she over saw the cleaning of the house and carpets, she brought our mail in, she made sure our grass was taken care of, her husband (who is every bit as kind and sincere as she is, just a little shout out to you Pat!) came over and did some electrical that needed to be done, dead bolts were fixed, shelves were put up in closets that had been taken down when the previous owners vacated, they even power washed the out side of the house for us. When we arrived there were snacks and sodas in the fridge and flowers on a beautiful table she had given us as a house warming gift. There were fire extinguishers and extra light bulbs in the wash room. She knew we would be weary from our travels and because it is her nature to help, she did so, thus making our transition painless.

It is this kind of treatment toward the people that she comes in contact with that allowed the flower shop opportunity to come about. Not because she had been in the market for it, but because I believe the universe paid it forward because she unselfishly pays it forward everyday without giving it a thought.

My husband and I mused over this because in the world today it is so easy to shelter yourself, as to not see what the world has to offer. It is all too easy to believe that everyone is out for themselves and would sooner walk over you than help you up. But it is people like our friend (and I keep saying friend instead of her name, because I know that this type of recognition, though true, would make her very uncomfortable) that make the world a better place. It is through these selfless acts of kindness that allow me personally to see the glass as half full instead of half empty. It is because of people like her that make me believe that the evil out in the world can be won over by love and sincerity. It is because of people like her that make me want to be a better person, to reflect my sincerity out in to the world as to be a mirror to those who are struggling to see the beauty and kindness in life.

In her shop, she had (had, because a friend bought it for me) a plaque that says, “The best things in life are not things”. Kindness is not a thing, sincerity is not a thing, love is not a thing, caring is not a thing. These are attributes that we all possess, without them the world becomes bleak and scary. Unfortunately, some people have buried these purest of qualities. But it is because of people like our friend that we know it does indeed still exist. For that we are genuinely thankful.

I, for one, believe that paying it forward does indeed pay off – in ways you could never imagine.