So it’s happened twice recently. I got on a plane and there were people giving gifts.

First, there was the woman with her son. They came bearing chocolate for the flight attendants. But the young mom with all the hurry of travel made sure that it was her son who made the gift. He carefully doled out his gifts to each flight attendant. The mom was quick to say, “We know what it’s like for a flight attendant; we have relatives who serve in this way. We just wanted to say thanks.”

And then it was the single woman, older but still spry behind her mask. She simply proclaimed, “I have chocolate!” To each flight attendant, she offered their pick of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, hazelnut and flavors I can’t remember. Each attendant got theirs. No one refused the gift.

It reminds me of a friend of mine who always carries an extra $20 in his billfold when he travels. The extra cash is for an attendant servicing the restrooms.

Or still another friend tells me that he always tries to leave a tip for the hotel cleaning staff.

I have another friend who likes to create a little surprise. So before traveling he’d make sure he had $2 bills to feature in his tips.

These are everyday gifts that make the world a little better place. How about you? How are you making the world a better place? What are your tips for living generously?

Photo by Nonki Azariah on Unsplash

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published December 2, 2020

Topics: Generosity

Everyday GenerosityGiving