Passing it on .....

 

After an active day at work, I managed to squeeze in a few free minutes. I opened my Facebook account and came across an awesome story, which made my day (and this article ….) - “In a high-class coffee shop in a small town near Venice, Italy, my friend and I were enjoying our coffee as a man entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, "Two cups of coffee, one of them for the wall." We heard this order with some interest and observed that he was served with only one cup of coffee but he paid for two. As soon as he left, the waiter stuck a piece of paper on the wall with the words ‘A CUP OF COFFEE’. This scene repeated with other customers over the course of our stay; it seemed to be a norm. A few minutes later, we noticed a man walking in, whose dress did not match the standard, or atmosphere of the coffee shop. Poverty was evident in his demeanor and attire. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, "One cup of coffee from the wall please." The waiter served this man's coffee with the customary respect and dignity. The man drank his coffee and left without paying. We were amazed to watch all this and noticed too that the waiter took down a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the bin. Then it dawned on us what this custom was all about. The great respect for the needy shown by the inhabitants of this town filled our eyes with tears. Coffee is not a need of our society, nor a necessity of life but what a wonderful way to show compassion and maintain human dignity for all. As human beings, let’s PASS IT ON!”

My thinking mind immediately probed, “Amit, do you pass it on?”

A few days back, my dear friend Manan Shah was driving home. On his way, there was a perpendicular road, where a car had stopped. As he was about to cross, he felt a jerk and stopped. The other car had brushed his car. A young girl got down and kept on apologizing for her mistake. Manan looked at her, smiled and said, “I will forgive you only on one condition. Incase you come across another such incident, where it’s not your mistake, you will not fight or make a scene, but forgive the other person!” I thought it was a wonderful way to handle the situation!

‘Passing it on’ need not just be monetary. There are innumerable creative ways to do it.

·     You come across someone who is feeling a little down; just putting an arm around his shoulder can be magical!

·    If someone shares an achievement with you, just a pat/ hug can make a world of a difference!

·     Instead of wishing people on their birthdays in facebook, pick up the phone to make a personal call. Tell them about one quality you really admire in them.

·     You are waiting on a signal. Someone comes and stops near you. Just a smile can make someone’s day!

·   When someone dear is sharing, can you just listen attentively without giving any suggestions?

There are enough reasons for people to believe that the world is no more a good place to stay in! It just takes a decision to spread goodness. If we decide that we will be messengers of goodness; we will see the world around us change! It will not be surprising if you start feeling that so much good is inturn happening to you!

We would have gone through enough lovely experiences or moments, which must have made us feel good. How about PASSING IT ON .....