Generosity Challenge: Unexpected Results

                                       Mystery gifters, in action.

The 8 year old gave her money to a boy at school.

He is actually more than a boy. He is her crush, and the money is more than just money. It is the 8 year old’s portion of the Generosity Challenge.

Which I thought I explained she was to give away anonymously, in a surprising way, to strangers. Not to the boy she’s crushing on, whom she walked up to and threw the money at.

Huh.

Like so many things in parenthood, the Generosity Challenge is something I envisioned one way, which went down in a completely different way. (Crying it out and the first day of kindergarten are other parenting events that spring to mind.) 

I think it’s the universe teaching me yet another lesson in control. Specifically: I have none and should just quit trying. Life is not a Hollywood movie that needs to be directed by me. It plays out just fine on its own.  

Because, despite all my pontificating, the 8 year old grasped the real point of the Generosity Challenge: it’s about giving. It doesn’t matter who you’re giving to – stranger or friend. It’s about looking at how you can make someone else’s day better instead of just worrying about your own.

Here’s another unexpected benefit of the Generosity Challenge. It pays dividends beyond the initial $10. Because you’re happy when you’re actually giving the money away. (Or in the 8 year old’s case, throwing it at cute boys.)

You’re happy when you’re brainstorming surprising ways to give it away. The guru crew had our best dinner conversation ever while we spitballed ideas.

And then you’re happy because you become hyper aware of all the generous acts going on around you. Yesterday, at a traffic light, a lady’s car got stuck in snow on a hill. Her wheels just kept spinning. The guy in the lane next to her got out of his car and pushed this lady’s car up the hill. Her car wasn’t even in his way.

That’s generosity. Just like the 10 year old hiding money in jackets left at her school’s “lost and found” is generous. And my fella hiding money under cereal boxes at the grocery store is generous. (He hid the money low so hopefully kid shoppers will be the recipients.)

And me? I wrapped my money in yellow paper that looks like a parking ticket and tucked it under the windshields of several cars parked at meters. I love the idea of someone being bummed out they got a parking ticket and instead finding some coffee money and a note that says “Enjoy”.

You gotta try the Generosity Challenge. By yourself or with your family. It’ll bond you up, make you feel better about the world we live in and – bonus! – you don’t have to set foot in a yoga studio for any of these healthy benefits.

With my new, technical expertise, I’ve enabled the “anonymous comments” button on the blog so you should be able to easily post in the comments section. Tell us how the Generosity Challenge went for you. Where’d you spend the Benjamins? How’d it make you feel?

Go get happy, guru girls & guys!