Pruning the Money Tree • Day $29 (changing the world, one bee-licious breakfast at a time)
blindly stumble forward with me as i answer the question, “can i spend on nothing but needs for 30 straight days?”
for the sake of good health, i skipped breakfast today.
finally returned to the chiropractor this morning (after a seven year absence, according to my chart!), and didn’t give myself enough time to chow down before leaving, so i found myself swinging through — you guessed it — the local Timmys for a Bagel B.E.L.T. after realigning my spine.
yeah, that’s yummy. delicious, in fact. or as my little girl says … “bee-licious”.
you know by now I’ll chock that up to poor planning, but i spent a little more than on just my breakfast. i decided to pull a random act of kindness and pay for the driver behind me. felt good – i’ll be honest. but now, i’m left with the dilemma of how to categorize that money drop.
1) i wanted to spend the money on something that wasn’t necessary … so is it a want?
2) i hadn’t set out to perform the RAK when i left home … so is it poor planning?
3) the world would be better off i (and others) did this more often … so is it a need?
i think you know i’m going to fight for this one.
i’ll admit, i don’t exercise my generous side as much as i think i should. in fact, there are situations i find myself in where i’m searching for justification to hang on to the bills in my pocket in order to walk away guilt-free. it’s not that i’m greedy, or overly selfish … but i certainly could put others first a lot more than i do.
when i think of people that give of themselves, it brightens my day. from the co-worker who spontaneously asks how she can help lighten the work load to the guy who brings in snacks for the gang, it makes my day. knowing that someone else has you in mind — even on the simplest level — is a compliment of sorts. a confirmation that you’re worth somebody’s time. and everyone gets a boost from feeling worthwhile.
i didn’t have this in mind when i decided to pay for the driver behind me, but i know if someone surprised me in that way, i’d have a smile on my face for more than a while. what’s more, i wouldn’t keep it to myself. we’re human, we like to share good news. in that way, one person’s act of kindness creates a ripple effect that doesn’t soon disappear.
i don’t know how far this morning’s act rippled outward from the driver behind me, but i’d like to think that it didn’t end with him/her. i’d like to think that s/he told a co-worker, friend or spouse, and that one of them felt inspired enough to at least consider doing something in kind at the next opportunity. if that didn’t happen, fine. but if it did, perhaps those ripples could one day reach as far as you.
you might be on the opposite side of my world right now, but with internet, e-mail and even the telephone, a random act of kindness knows no boundaries. all it takes is for one act to reach one person who passes it on … to someone who chooses to continue the cycle.
what does all this have to do with Pruning the Money Tree? that’s debatable, but at least i’ve just convinced myself that what i did this morning is a need … maybe it’s time to add another category to the budget.
~score~
wants: $6.38
daily avg: $0.22
poor planning: $40.50
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