Paying it forward

This summer I, along with my friend and mentor LB, attended a the annual golf tournament with my club. Incredibly, and despite what I could only describe as the obvious disparity between our ability and that of the majority of the members, we found ourselves prize winners. LB's prize, which I collected on her behalf, was two tickets for very good seats to a professional baseball game featuring the once-world champion but now also-ran team in our home town. LB had taken a new job after Labour Day, and as I suspected and soon confrimed was neither available nor particularly interested in attending when I contacted her yesterday to remind her and offer her a final chance.

I put it out to my hockey team, and a gentleman whom I knew, but only barely, answered the call and mentioned that he would like to grab the tickets and attend the game with his two-year-old son. I was glad to hear that someone was able to use them and arranged for him to collect the tickets from me as I was at that point having dinner with my friend CB and getting ready to play my trivia league match.

My teammate, and his young son, came by and collected the tickets, and while I was at trivia attended the game, and warmed my heart in a way I had never anticipated. A gentleman nearby caught a ball and gave it to his son, much to his and everyone's delight, and my teammate shared some adorable photographs with me commemorating the moment.

In sharing those photos, he shared with me another noble sentiment:

"If I can repay the favor some day I will do it gladly."

To which I replied:

"Nothing to repay - pay it forward"

I suppose in the simplest sense that paying it forward is essentially a retelling of the Golden Rule. Paying it forward is the simplest manifestation of altruism.

I have heard many people discussing paying it forward as if it were karmic insurance against accusations of selfishness. That sounds more to me like paying it backward.