Generosity and Roast Beef Sandwiches

Today in The Republican, Barbara Bernard wrote on the value of generosity, a topic close to my heart. She offers several examples of what her father-in-law referred to as "bread being cast on water and coming back roast beef sandwiches."

We all can use more kindness and generosity. Showing it to others is a reward in itself. Doing something kind for someone makes you immediately feel better. However, there are often more tangible rewards as well, often when one least expects it. I know that this has proven true in my own life and Bernard offers several examples of this from her own.

She writes:

Ever pay someone a compliment, smile, hold a door, visit someone in a nursing home, help care for the baby of an exhausted mother, change a flat tire or try to make a difference for someone you knew could use it?

Did you totally forget what you had done only to have something very wonderful happen to you as a result of your kindness, maybe years later?

Chances are you never expected more than maybe a “thank you,” but that thank you come along with words of how you made a major difference in someone’s life.

That’s what my father-in-law meant by “bread cast on water always comes back roast-beef sandwiches.” We always get more than we give. 

You can read the full article here: http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/10/barbara_bernard_bread_cast_on_water_always_comes_back_roast_beef_sandwiches.html

Do something kind for someone today. You'll be glad that you did.