thinking that this thinking is the (or a potential) huge elephant in the room.. because it sounds so humane/ethical/moral. how could pay it forward ness no be the most incredible mindset?
but perhaps.. on closer (or farther away) analysis.. we find it could be the very thing keeping us from us. an in cognito carrot/stick/raised-eyebrow – as it were. so it may improve things for a bit.. make us all feel better.. but at the end of the day.. esp one with no extrinsic motivation (like guilt) to keep us obliged.. it won't be helpful/sustainable/better..
i think two things come into play here..
1. life is a gift. no one earned it. no one earned themselves into being born.
2. how we live our life is a choice. you will be the best ongoing you, to dance with the world, if you make your choices everyday.. from your gut.
gratitude needs to come from #1 alone.. if it's dependent on situational obligations/interactions.. that seems more like a keeping score..and a reaction.. rather than a life embedded in gratitude.. simply for being alive.
it seems we need to choose gratitude… everyday. if it becomes habit.. not only do we become less sincere.. we miss (mess with) the emergence of a better us.
ie: we need you/me on our toes everyday.. not slaving away to earn a living… not not breathing because we're so busy.. but on our toes listening.. to our own gut.. to the gut of others.
being set free.. and then choosing.. every day.. to serve/give.. that is sustainable..
The boy did not ask what my parents did because he was a child and had not yet learned the reciprocal requirement of the formally causal conversation of certain social classes. I found this aspect of children to be a comfort.