Pay it Forward

I saw this movie for the first time last night, and LOVED it...

I had heard of it, and people referring to it, but had just never seen it. But I can't believe that it came out almost 10 years ago. The premise of the movie was noble and the thought behind it had every area of heart string that I liked having pulled on.

I liked the idea of a struggling alcoholic having to work 2 jobs to give her son a better chance to live than she was given. I like the fact that she continually fails and tries again and asks for help. I love the fact that the boy trying to do this experiment was continuously let down by:

a)his teacher
b) the heroin addict
c) his mother and father
d) his schoolmates

All these people were real, and the story was akin to that of real life. At the end of the movie, the boy ends up thinking that his experiment didn't work and that he had failed to "pay it forward" and make it work.

However, as we all know, it helped out a long line of people who otherwise had no help or hope. I wish that we as people would do the same in our everyday world, especially now in a global economy meltdown when people most need it most.

If we were just to do this one thing to 3 people every day, it would breed good habits. It doesn't even have to be a big thing. It could be as simple as paying for the person's coffee behind you in line at Tim Horton's that costs you a buck. In turn, that person sees something that catches their day and it puts forth in motion an idea of helping out those who want to be helped out.

Maybe I am a sorry optimist, but I think that the principle of this is a class 1 idea, and I intend to use it in my everyday life. I think that I have believed in this before I saw this movie, but I think now it has made me feel even more passionate about it now.

And even if I don't get the results I think it should, I know that it will end in the proper way regardless of whether I see the results. I don't need to see the results. All I need to do, is to put in the good inputs and I know that the positive outputs are bound to come out.

May you all do the same...