I missed the show but caught this CNN article about how Oprah today reached a new high in her annual giveaway shows. She gave over 300 audience members a gift debit card with $1,000 each, and instructed them to donate that money to someone else.
"I can honestly say that every gift I've ever given has brought at least as much happiness to me as it has to the person I've given it to," the 52-year-old talk-show host said. "That's the feeling I want to pass on to you."
The recipients can give their gift to one person (but relatives aren't eligible) or split it up among a number of people or charitable causes.
Which made me think: if someone gave me $1,000 for the express purpose of paying it forward to someone else, to whom would I give it? After thinking about it for a while, what I realized is how tough a decision that actually would be.
There are so many worthy causes and individuals in our society, from single mothers struggling on welfare to environmental causes to charities supporting research to cure AIDS, cancer and heart disease. There's One.org and SaveDarfur.org and countless others that focus on global issues.
A thousand dollars doesn't feel like a lot of money in some ways, but in other respects if you used it in the right way it could change someone's life. What if you met a homeless person and gave him $20? That money could buy him the first decent meal he's had for a week. What if you lived in an area where the local school was under-funded, and bought the school something it really needed, like new textbooks, or a variety of books to expand the school library?
What if you bought toys to donate to the children's ward of your local hospital at Christmas? Think of how much good you could do by sending your $1,000 to Habitat for Humanity to buy building supplies, or to Heifer.org to buy livestock to help an African farmer get a fresh start in life?
We're approaching that time of year when need is often most greatly felt, even though for many it is a time of overwhelming abundance. The lucky audience members at Oprah's show today have a chance to feel how wonderful it is to give without worrying "can I afford it?"
But what about the rest of us? We all want to give to others, but often our own life situation makes us feel WE "can't afford it". But giving to others doesn't mean you have to suffer. It's about looking for what you CAN give.
If you don't have an abundance of money, think about it: what DO you have an abundance of that you could share with someone who could really use it? Do you have a particular talent or skill-set? Look around for who needs it: if you're someone who is handy around the house, find an elderly neighbor and offer to fix up something around her house. If you're good with fixing computers, volunteer some of your time to the local school to clean and service the school's computer equipment. Do you have a neighbor who is a single mom and never gets any time off? Offer to babysit her kids for an afternoon or evening so she can get some "me-time" in.
We all have something in abundance: humor, compassion, patience, skills, and sometimes even money. Giving feels GREAT. All we have to do is figure out what we have to give, and who needs it, and match the two up.
Once again, Oprah has inspired me to think outside the box and figure out what I can do next to share my abundance with someone else. It may not be $1,000 but whatever it is, I know it will feel incredible to share it.
