Generosity Always Returns

I wrote about a lady and her lucky penny not too long ago and the moral to her story was that the value of something was in the eye of the beholder.  Interestingly enough last week I was at a meeting and as we were getting under way, one of the people I was talking with had just arrived a bit late.  As he sat down he apologized and then he quickly walked around the conference table and was giving everyone a penny.  I internally laughed a bit, because I thought here we go again.  Except when I received the penny from the gracious gentleman, it had a carved cross in the middle of it as if someone had cut it out.  He explained that he knew a pastor that made these and gave them out as a form of outreach in his ministry.  Everyone around the table was immediately taken by it and one person liked it so much that she put it on her gold chain that she was wearing in front of us.  I admired the workmanship and was completely fulfilled by not only the gesture, in addition, by the way it made me feel.  I had images that came to my head about the lady that I had helped get her lucky penny and how much she appreciated someone assisting her to retrieve it.  In an instant I thought about an act of kindness and how that action usually creates a reciprocal reaction.  Generosity knows no bounds and when you do something out of the goodness of your heart or with the best of intentions, there is a chain reaction that is set in motion.  People always say that giving is better than receiving and until you feel what this is like, it can be an ambiguous thought.  However, when you become the recipient of such an action, you can immediately feel the power and strength behind such actions or intentions.  That afternoon as I concluded the meeting, I leaned over to the person that gave me my penny and I thanked him for his thoughtfulness and kindness.  We all left our meeting with a smile along with a pep in our step, as we emanated in the goodness of this person who made our day.  The next time you contemplate giving of yourself or making a contribution towards someone or something else, don't think about it too long.  My suggestion is to go with your gut instinct and proceed accordingly.  What is in your heart's best intentions will ultimately make its way back to you and fill you up with a dose of positive, enlightened and happy energy that no amount of money could buy.