Generosity is one of my favorite topics. We may think we share for the benefit of others, but when we step back, we realize that the benefits of giving (ourselves, our time, our attention, our resources, our forgiveness) far outweigh those of the recipient.
I have mentioned how enjoyable it has been for me to anonymously pay for someone’s meal, wallet, or other things (see Jan & Feb posts.). Another act of generosity I like to engage in is to leave money behind, at one of my favorite take out restaurants.
When I buy a delicious salad to go, it costs just around $10. So when I pay at this particular spot I hand them a $20 dollar bill and say “Keep the change, and put it to the next customers tab.” It is always a surprise to the person processing payment. As I exit I smile, imagining how fun it would be to be on the receiving end of that. Mostly I chuckle because it throws people off. I imagine how perplexing it could be when another customer pulls out her wallet, and hears “Your total is seventy cents” or something like that. “HUH?”
Then it happened to me! I was passing through the drive through of a well known restaurant chain. My order is generally one of two items: A cheeseburger, or a six piece chicken nugget. That is because those are the two items that Zach asks for. And even though he won’t eat them, he likes the drive through (new since COVID) and it has become part of our routine. If early enough in the day, I get a coffee too, since I love their brew!
The drive through order is only a couple bucks, and I keep small change and coins handy to honor the restaurant’s request for exact change. A few weeks ago, I approached the payment window, only to hear “Your order was already paid for by the driver in front of you.” “HUH?” Yup, I was thrown off! Then I smiled and said “That’s awesome! Please take this money to pay toward the customer behind me!”
Then SHE was thrown off! “HUH?” She quickly summoned another clerk, and together they started punching numbers into a calculator, and I pulled away toward the next window. How fun, to help the challenges of their shift be overpayment from one stranger to another, taking the focus off themselves and onto customers.
I loved experiencing this as the receiver! If anything, it reinforced for me the transformative energy of sharing what we have, with complete anonymity. Next time you find your mood to have gone a little South, try telling a clerk of any kind, to “Keep the change” and see how quickly your thoughts transition from “scarcity” (I don’t have enough, I am not enough, I can’t get enough) to “abundance” (there is more than enough to go around.)
Abundance is contagious! The more we do this for others, we should look around and notice how the impacts on our own lives show up in more places than the just the drive through!