WE have often heard this term “paying it forward”, where the beneficiary of a good deed repays it to others instead of to the original benefactor.
The more I reflect on this, the more I think of my late mum. I remember mum being busy packing baskets of food to send to so many different places, especially during the fasting month of Ramadan, Hari Raya and at the end of the year.
She would send different things to different people, young and old, the well-to-do and the less fortunate.
In my youth, I never really understood why she did what she did. Mum was already busy as it was. She had a large family to care for, as well as see to her catering business and other interests.
But no matter how tired she was, she’d still do it and sometimes even send them personally.
“It’s a good time to meet people and foster good relationships, especially with family and friends,” she used to tell me.
You could see the satisfaction on her face at the end of each day. She had that I-feel-good look about her.
Whenever I asked her, she’d always tell me that sometimes people don’t get to enjoy what we have. Really?
“Yes,” mum said. “Sometimes even the rich don’t know simple pleasures. But that’s not the point. The point is: it’s always nice to be remembered and appreciated.”
So she continued with her gifting. In the process she roped all of us to join her in her endeavour by cooking, packing or sending stuff to the different people.
I remember she’d send a feast to the nearby police station and pack complete meals for the garbage collectors on our street at least once a year. Even when she was ill, she’d bring delicious food for the nursing staff and patients at the clinic where she went for her haemodialysis treatment.
She did this just about any time of the year, but somehow the year-end festivities filled the air with joy and desire for gifting. Anyone can do this. Indeed, there are more ways than one to do that. You may want to consider enlarging your circle and sharing the joy with others.
A SPECIAL KIND OF GIFT
To expand on my mum’s list of people, you could do something special for the caregivers in your life.
For example, it could be someone who’s taking care of your loved one, especially if you’re living in a different location. You can send little gifts or vouchers for shopping or meals to show them your appreciation. You could call him or her to have a chat and then talk to the loved one in her care.
If your loved one is in a nursing home, you could send something like cakes or hampers to show the staff that they’re in your thoughts during the festive season.
A nicer gesture would be to visit homes for elders and orphans to bring some cheer.
Bring your family with you. Sit down with some of the people there and chat with them. If visiting or being face-to-face with orphans, ailing children or elderly distresses you, then send something that can cheer them.
Grab this opportunity of gifting by clearing up your home too. You’ll find items and clothes that are still in good condition that you could donate to someone in need.
Some people find old unused items in the process. It’s a great way to make space in your cupboards and bring joy to someone out there who’d enjoy wearing or using your stuff.
You can also donate foodstuff with long shelf life. Some supermarkets have donation bins. You can buy canned or dry food items and drop them into those bins so that they’d get distributed to the needy.
Alternatively, you might want to take five or more items from your pantry for this donation. Just remember not to give expired ones.
You can make gifting rather fun and exciting too, like giving a jar of coins and loose change to your favourite eatery like the corner coffee shop or mamak stall.
Tell them it’s for the staff — cooks and serving boys. It may not be much but the surprised reaction and smiles makes it worth your while.
If you know your neighbour or friend is a caregiver and could do with some help during the holiday season, you could give him or her a call to ask if you could pick up something for them while you’re at the shops. You’d be surprised the request could be as simple as just milk and eggs.
Another thing that you could do that would really help others is to donate blood. That is a gift of life. If you haven’t done this before, now is a good time as any to try it. You might end up feeling so good that you’d do it often.
Putri Juneita Johari volunteers for the Special Children Society of Ampang. She can be reached at juneitajohari@yahoo.com.