When I go to take my C-train ticket out of the dispenser, I discover there is one in the tray already. “Oh no!” I think. “Someone has forgotten to take their ticket.”
I don’t want them to risk getting a fine if they’re caught on the train without a ticket so I walk up and down the platform asking people if the ticket is theirs.
No one claims it but one woman tells me, “It’s a thing. I heard people are just buying tickets and leaving them in the slot for someone else to get a free ride.”
Oh! I love the idea but now, what am I to do? I’ve got two tickets in my hand.
Eureka! I’ll pay it forward.
I walk back to the dispensing machine and place the ticket I just bought into the slot and keep the found one. It expires sooner.
I smile all the way home.
People can be so encouraging, so kind, so inspiring.
Later, I take Beaumont to the off leash area for his walk. While picking up after him, I see some dog deposits left by another owner. I consciously keep my thoughts on how I can be of service and clean up the poop.
As Val wrote the other day, when we meet violence with violence, or in this case, when my thoughts are negative, I create more of what I don’t want in the world.
I want to create a world of love, joy, harmony, peace.
I must be that which I want to create in the world. I must think thoughts that shine into the darkness. I must do the things that open doors that lead to better.
I must be the inspiration I seek. Feel the hope I desire. Breathe into the joy I want to create all around me.
Today, as you go about your day, I invite you to take every opportunity the world presents to create better. Hold a door open for the person behind you. Smile at a stranger. Ask someone how you can help. Listen with a soft heart. Hear with an open mind.
You may think they are only acts of small significance, but small acts create big waves when they ripple out to touch other hearts to repeat them, again and again.
If you feel a negative thought creeping into your thinking, shine a light of hope and possibility on it. Don’t let ‘the ugly’ steal your peace of mind.
Be a vessel of peace. Be a champion of joy. Be Love.
Namaste.
Dare Boldly 