10/15/00

Time: 2:00 pm

..don't pay it back..just pay it forward

It's origin and principle is so simple. When someone does something for you, do something nice for someone else in return. Create a chain, of goodness, a movement of charity, done for the sheer pleasure of it, without expecting any kind of reward. Yes, this idea came to me, based upon the upcoming release of Pay It Forward, and based upon the book. Isn't it curious how events occur and tie together so ironically, that it makes you wonder indeed about the existence of fate and its control on our life. Personally, I have long believed in fate, for it has brought me the love of my life, thrown a few obstacles in front to strengthen and help us discover the power of our love, and now, after laying the foundation, is guiding us down the road to forever (you knew I couldn't go through a journal entry without mentioning her..it is truly wonderful to be in love isn't it *smile*

Back to where I was, I have been anticipating the release of the movie for a while now. Several reasons led to this, namely the stars, Spacey and Osment, stars of the two best movies of 1999 in my book. Then I read and learned more about the story, and I was almost hooked. Finally, when the trailer was released, and I saw the vision come to life, and it became one of my must see movies for the fall. It would be a welcome oasis amidst the barren summer movie season. The only drawback now was the fact that I had to wait until Oct 20th to see it..or did I??

Even though they are open to the public, I feel so honored and special seeing a sneak preview of a movie. Being as I am going to be a film critic, its something I'm sure I will be able to get used to, but right now, I still feel like I'm in on something that not too many people get to do. I got to see a sneak preview, on Oct 7th, of this wonderful movie, Pay It Forward, my thoughts and such are posted at the movie review link page, but the whole concept got my mind thinking about the simple originality and concept behind the project.

How difficult is it really to do something for someone, just for the sake of doing it, and without expecting anything in return. Obviously, in this capitalistic, money-grubbing society, its all about how much can we get, how fast can we get it, and what will it do for us. This is a selfish, greedy ideal which has absorbed the fast paced lifestyle that we currently live in. When did we become such cold and heartless people. Why do we have to be rewarded for doing something that takes little effort and energy for us, yet can greatly benefit others. The littlest things in our eyes can often be the most rewarding in the eyes of those who don't take things for granted as much as we do. Take for example, the events the weekend following my viewing of this movie, yesterday, to be exact.

In the Kansas City area, as there may be in other communities around the country, there is a program called Christmas in October (it may go by differing names in other places, but the principle should look familiar) This project involves several large corporations and companies, in combination with volunteers, and contractors, taking a day or week out of their lives to perform needed repairs on houses and yards where the residents may be, for some reason or another, unable to. In our case, the lady whose house we (me and several volunteers from my department at work) worked on, was a sweet lady named Rose, who did not get around very well, and had lived in her house for over 30 years.(work on the house, payment being smile on womans face, the thankful words, the pleasure of doing something that helped someone) - why cant we just do things for those who cannot, and we can

In this case, the woman had done so much in life, raised a family, the trophies and representations of which were proudly displayed around her house. She deserves to reap the rewards of a life lived fully and completely. This is our way of doing such. The 15 of us left there, tired, dirty, scratched, well-fed, and filled with a satisfied feeling that no amount of money could ever pay. We had pulled weeds, patched up a roof, scraped paint from windows, cleaned a driveway and even repaired a squeaky door. Miniscule to us, a small amount of labor, but to her, we were angels, descendants of Bob Vila who, for one day, blessed this woman's life. Her smile, her continual gratitude (not to mention the German chocolate cake, lemon cake, two apple pies and fried chicken) were both more of a reward than any amount of money could pay.

Why do we get so busy, so caught up in the madness of life, that we cannot stop, or feel inconvenienced to help someone else. Why can't we buy groceries for someone who has trouble getting around, mow the lawn, hang a picture, change a light bulb, these little things that we take for granted everyday, mean the world to someone who cannot do them. It is so simple, and so rewarding, yet situations like Christmas in October rarely get coverage. Why? Because we are a society so obsessed and focused on everything that is wrong in the world, that we pshaw the good news, the things that bring a smile to our face, and for a brief moment, show us that the world can be a good place, and that there are people who do things solely for the reward of it.

I know I've ranted, and been repetitive (blame it on exhaustion and cold medication if you must) but my point I guess is this. I did this, I expect no reward, but I would like to see and hear about more events like this. Maybe even start an unofficial movement, via this medium of the Internet which has become both a bane and a boom to society. Use the power of a journal, the expeditious nature of that Send button, pass the word along. If you've done something good, tell the world, tell me, pass it along, and maybe we can inspire others. It has to start somewhere, not just another one of those quickly deleted emails about tracking email addresses, urban legends, or free Disney admission, but actually using this multi thousand dollar piece of machinery to create something, to keep hope and faith in society alive.

I'm open to ideas, suggestions, tales of good (which I will gladly post to pass along) anything, everything. Let's make a difference..let's show the world that we are good, lead by example. What is the worst thing that can happen? We make a small difference in someone's life, if each of us did that, and passed it along, to inspire others, maybe..just maybe, we could each brighten up our little corners of the world. Then again, maybe I've found a glimmer of optimism, amidst the darkness and confusion in my life, and I'm clinging to it, unreasonably. You tell me This could be the beginning of an endless journey, are you willing to take the first step with me?