The warm and fuzzies

What a powerful article ‘Giving is the new receiving’ [June 2018] was! It reminded me of two occasions when I enjoyed that warm, fuzzy feeling of giving. The one that stands out was when I was at my lowest. I had just left my husband and was struggling to make ends meet. One evening, on my way out, I glumly stuck my hands in my coat pockets – and found a R100 note. I could not believe my eyes: a gift from heaven. On our way home, I took that note and bought ice cream for the kids and their friends whose parents had been so kind to us. It’s possible one of the parents had put the money in my pocket – they have no idea what pleasure it gave me to share it with my children and their friends. It was the best ice cream we have ever eaten!

The other occasion was after I had spent about R1 000 on groceries in preparation for the holidays and realised I had no small change for the car guard. Like many of us, I thought ‘next time’. Then, on the spur of the moment, I gave him R100 and told him to enjoy the holidays. His astonishment is something I will remember for a long time. I still recall his words: ‘For me?’

Thank you for the reminder. I promise to create more warm, fuzzy moments for myself, to the benefit of all those I give to. Cheryl King

Ed: We had such a strong and positive response to that story… It’s such a reminder that we all generally want to help other people – we just sometimes don’t know how to go about it.