I think we can all use some good news, confirming that humans are basically good. Have you ever "paid it forward" like this, and/or have you ever been on the direct recipient of a "pay-it-forward" action (see details)

I suppose you could say that. A few weeks ago I stopped at a convenience store coming home from work, and on the way out I spilled my coffee on myself. A lady who was coming in the door said she’d by me another cup, which I told her was unnessary, since it was my fault and she had nothing to do with it. But she insisted so I let her do it. Nice lady and random act of kindness. Guess all people aren’t anus cavities.

I have had strangers and friends do amazingly generous things for me, and I have always thought of them as pay it forward moments.

One was a stranger driving me to Sears for a car battery when my car would not start and replacing the battery for me right there where my car was parked.

More than once a friend has helped me get a job. When I was going through a very difficult time after a break-up my friends were there for me above and beyond, but also a doctor, a physician at the university, took extra time to tell me about what he went through and it really helped.

When I was a very little girl I was walking home crying, I had missed the bus from school, and two men playing tennis stopped their game and drove me home.

Many times strangers have given me change or money for a phone call when I asked for change of a dollar. They just gave me the quarter. I’ve done it also. I remember one time in particular in a waiting room at an ER and a woman wanted change to buy a snack for her toddler. She was practically falling over herself to thank me, she said no one has ever done something like that, I think it was 50 cents. In NY it happened all the time.

One time I remember a woman having a problem at the turnstile to get into the NYC subway and my dad just took out a token and paid for her.

My mom has put money in a parking meter for countless people when she saw a meter expired and no ticket yet. I’ve done a couple of times, but I don’t live in areas that have meters usually so it doesn’t come up much.

I haven’t done it recently, but I used to cut out diaper coupons when I was cutting coupons for me, and if I saw someone in that aisle I gave it to them. So expensive to buy diapers and the coupons were often $1, which is a lot.

A close friend of mine had terrible insurance and she as just graduated from college, her husband in law school, and her new baby needed to see a neurologist. When the bill came for a few thousand dollars she called to try to set up a payment plan. The doctor got on the phone and said, “aren’t you the one whose husband is in law school?” She replied, “yes,” surprised the doctor even got on the phone to talk to her. He continued, “I am going to make your balance zero and one day hopefully your husband can do the same for someone in need of a lawyer.” He has done just that, and definitely that moment helped to influence him.

Paying it forward makes the world go around.

Wow; Just, wow! That almost restores my faith in humanity. Mind you, I said ALMOST. : ) @JLeslie

Yes. It’s nice to be reminded of the decency of which people are capable. And I have had it paid forward (and was surprised and felt uplifted both every time). Once someone ahead of paid my parking fee on his way out of the lot and decades ago I was shocked when a woman paid my toll on the bay bridge.

Gosh, I forgot fluther. So many examples of people being helpful here. Some done off line, but still a jelly helping another jelly.

YES…Christmas 2019. I had stopped at our local Bojangles for breakfast while on my way to our local flea market.The girl in the car in front of me kept chatting up the guy at the drive-thru window, giggling a lot. From all appearances, it looked like the Love Connection!!! When they finished their lovefest & I finally got to the window, the guy at the window handed me a note that read I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas by buying your breakfast. IF you can, please pass it on. So, I handed the note back to the cashier & asked him how much was it going to be to cover the car behind me. He told me, I paid, wished him a Merry Christmas & continued on my way!!! I never did hear how long that one lasted. It surely wasn’t 3 days or I would have heard something!!!

I cannot pass by someone having car trouble or it will surely come back to haunt me!!! When my car wouldn’t start & I asked for a jump, first words were I don’t have any cables. So, I asked Santa for a set of jumper cables one year & the next excuse was it might damage my battery. So I asked Santa for a portable jumper box. Now I can jump my own car without bugging anyone else; but at the same time, I’ve started many a car without hesitation. The one that sticks out in my mind was one summer when it was over 100 & this young girl had 6 screaming kids in her car & she looked like she was at her wits end. I pulled up next to her, asked her to pop the hood, hooked up my jumper…poof, she was on her way!!! Ran into her later she kept thanking me. She said she drove straight home, put ½ the kids in time out & the other ½ to bed for a nap. She then gave herself a time out until she could get it back together.

So there are some good folks in the world after all. Whou’lda think it? Nice little thread here. A break from Trumpty Dumpty and Covid is going to kill is all!

I have been on both sides of this too. When I pay it forward I specify to recipient that it will be anonymous.

Story time. A friend of mine taught a Freshman level psychology class at the local community college for a few years. One time (maybe she has done it again since) she gave an extra credit assignment to do a pay it forward action and then write about it. In her class of about 30 only two students the assignment. I asked, was it two who were getting a good grade anyway? She said yes. She continued to say that most of the kids in the college were from poor and difficult backgrounds and probably had never had a stranger do a random nice thing for them. They were less likely to understand the impact or attempt it. That was her perception anyway.

I love the idea behind paying it forward. if A helps B and B pays A back that is the end. If B instead decides to pay forward to C, we have the start of a chain reaction. One thing I thought of, which is apparently not very original, is to have pay forward cards. They are kind of like an IOU in reverse. I have never heard of anyone using them, but they could possibly be effective.

I don’t think of it as paying at all. To me a gift, an act of kindness, especially to a stranger, is just itself and not a debt or obligation, not even a debt against a future obligation.

Someone did pay for my lunch at work one day when my debit card ran out.

And a nice man I met on the train to Salisbury gave me a lift to Stonehenge when I got off the train and thought the monument was going to be right there. Then he took me back to the train station. Saved me from a very disappointing lack of preparation.

I’ve done things for people that they didn’t expect, not always trivial; but I don’t talk about them. They were just something I did and not in any sense a payment. I prefer not to use that term for them.

I had to make long drive on a Sunday for an oncology appointment Monday. My car didn’t start. I called our small town service station not really expecting an answer, but the owner was in catching up on paperwork. He came over and got me going. I asked what I owed. “Nothing.” he said. “I don’t work on Sundays.”

I have been on both sides. I recently was homeless for 3 years and I didn’t have an income. I had was walking around my hometown of Chicago Illinois in just flip flops that I found in a trash can and a police officer had been patrolling the sidewalks and seen that i only had flip flops on. Mind you this was mid January. She went into a nearby store and come out with a buggy full of things including a pair of warm boots, a bunch of clothes, and about $100 worth of groceries. i thanked her for her service and kindness and she went about the rest of her shift. Come to find out she served with my dad in the Marine Corps.