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Sometimes joy is a planned-for event, a
circle on the calendar; a much anticipated dinner out at the end of a
long week.
And, sometimes, joy is a rogue breeze
on the hottest summer day – a blast of cool air arriving to tousle
your hair, jostle your bearings and make you laugh.
Today I enjoyed both kinds of joy, and
it was doubly life-giving.
Meeting my good friend at a restaurant
I'd never tried before, was the planned event. We lingered over
delicious food, lively conversation and a wonderful server.
What happened when the tab arrived, was
the second wave of joy: my friend picked up the receipt and said,
“I'll pay. I've got this.”
My first impulse, of course, was to
argue the point, to own my share of the bill – to claim what seemed
equitable and fair.
But there are moments when “equitable”
and “fair” get swallowed up in the large, jubilant space where
Generosity waltzes in.
This, I quickly realized, was her
moment to bless me with abundance.
To shut that down would have been to
throw a damper on her spontaneous act of grace.
My reward was her vibrant smile and her
heartfelt comment, “Thank you for letting me do this!”
As thankful as I was, I believe her joy
was ten times greater. The dining room felt like it had expanded to allow for more abundance, more laughter, more pure delight.
We walked out into the evening on wings
of hospitality, giddy with anticipation for the ice cream stand just
down the road a bit.
A fitting dessert.
And she let me treat.
Sometimes it's not about the checkbook
or the equal divvying out of responsibility. Sometimes it's about
flinging out kindness into an unsuspecting world.
I can hardly wait to pay it forward.
Photo by Limor Zellermayer, Unsplash Photographers
I invite you to look for my coffee table books, the Breath of Joy! series. So excited to announce the newly-launched volume, Breath of Joy! Singing Spring.
This blog supports www.booksforbondinghearts.com/shop, timely gifts for all seasons.
