Pay it Forward
September 30, 2001 | 12:00am
Pay It Forward is a movie I saw when I was in America many months ago. I am sure many of you have seen it, as I myself have recommended it to many of my friends. To those who haven’t, this is a stirring movie about a student (Haley Joel Osment), his teacher (Kevin Spacey) and a project. It starts uncomplicated enough...at the start of class, the teacher gives the students an assignment posed as a question – how can you make the world a better place to live in...how can you make a difference in this world? Taking the task to heart, this 11-year-old student devise a plan. His strategy being to do one good thing for three people, and in turn, ask these three people to each do a good for three other people. By the concept of multiplication, the good deeds should spread and make the world a better place. Quite simple actually.
Would this movie’s main concept work in our society?
Touched by the movie, I was inspired to embark on my own experience to find out if the concept is doable. Since I was just testing the waters, I decided to start small. I asked a few of my friends from around the country to perform a random act of kindness to at least one person and ask that person to pay it forward. I must say I never knew how many skeptical friends I had until I brought up this idea. But in the name of research, they all obliged. The strategy was for my friends not to go out of their daily routines but to be on alert for a perfect stranger who would need some kind of help. It preferably did not involve any money but more importantly, it had to be an act of kindness. While the recipients of this kindness were asked to pay it forward, my friends did not make it appear as though they were doing it only for the research. So, from Ilocos to Baguio, Tarlac to Manila, Iloilo to Cebu, Zamboanga to Cotabato to General Santos my friends were on a mission.
Elsie was one of those who I enlisted to help me. She reported that while in a grocery store in Tarlac, an old disheveled man holding a loaf of bread stood in front of her, counting the change in his hands. In a not-so-discreet voice, the cashier said the old man was P4 short. Embarrassed, the old man left the line, leaving the loaf on the counter. This was Elsie’s moment. She paid for the loaf and ran out after the humiliated man. She said the man stood agape as she tried to hand him the bread. She explained that he reminded her of her own grandfather and resented how the cashier treated him. The old man offered to pay Elsie, minus the P4 of course, but she didn’t accept the money. Instead, she asked the old man to do something nice for another stranger and to ask that stranger to continue the cycle. The old man lapsed into silence as he hesitantly accepted the bread. It was like a handshake and Elsie was somehow assured that he would honor his end of the deal. She did feel very good.
Jerry from Cebu was recruited for the experiment. He was on his way to school when he saw an old couple standing beside their vehicle which had a flat-tire. The old woman was flagging down private vehicles while her husband was evaluating the damage of the tire. Jerry said the old couple looked surprised when he stopped to help. The old lady approached him before he could get out of the car asked if they could borrow his car tools to change the flat tire. Of course, Jerry did more than lend them the tools. He went down on his knees to change the tire for the old couple. When they were set, the man offered to pay Jerry for his trouble. When he didn’t accept the money, the old couple invited him for breakfast. Late for school, Jerry politely refused. Then, he requested them to "pay it forward." The couple immediately understood and promised to do so. Just the same they exchanged telephone numbers. Jerry, orphaned early in life, looks back at the incident and says that they could very well be the parents he never knew.
In Zamboanga, I called on another friend, Beng, to help me out. Her opportunity came when she was in her daughter’s school for the regular parent-teacher one-on-one meeting. One student came running inside the conference room frantically reporting that her classmate had an accident while playing soccer. The school nurse said the girl needed to be brought to the hospital for some stitches. Beng volunteered to bring the obviously pained girl in her car. She held her hand while the doctor stitched her up and stayed until the girl’s parents came. A very thankful couple arrived less than an hour later. Very frightened, the young girl worried that there might be some blood on the upholstery of Beng’s car so the couple insisted that they be allowed to have it cleaned. Beng declined but laid down the request... pay it forward. Again, the couple promised they would do so. In fact, they promised to do three acts of kindness to three perfect strangers. This was all Beng wanted.
Wilson is my arm in Cotabato. He was understandably the most skeptical of all, but because of my insistence to give the project a try, he relented.Wilson owns a grocery store in the city. One morning, a van of catsup, soy sauce and vinegar arrived to make a delivery in their store. Three young men were unloading the boxes when accidentally, on the third trip to the stockroom, one box of catsup fell from the shoulders of one pahinante. Wilson heard the bottles breaking. The van’s supervisor scolded the young man and said that it would be deducted from his salary. Obviously distraught, but owning up to his fault, the young man continued to unload the boxes. This was when Wilson decided to make his move. He told the supervisor to record the box under the store’s account and not charge the young man anymore. Wilson said that the young man was obviously happy but too shy to express himself so he tapped the pahinante’s shoulder and said, "Ingat ka na lang sa susunod. Magpakabait ka ha." Wilson was sure he heard a sigh of relief from the young man.
There are many such tales around the country that my friends have narrated to me but unfortunately I don’t have a record on how the second party passed it on. I guess we will never really know if the recipients of the kindness did their part for others. I can assertively say that for sure the people who embarked on this experiment felt enriched by the experience. All of them felt good about themselves that we agreed to continue doing these random acts as often as possible.
Perhaps in these trying times when the rich, the powerful and the geniuses have not really given us the answers to our problems, we should turn to simple minds with simple ideas like this. We are in times of apathy, distrust and uncertainty. Let us attempt to end the negative vibes and take it upon ourselves to make a positive difference. Perform an act of kindness and ask your recipient to pay it forward. You have so much to gain with little effort. In fact, don’t be surprised if it comes full circle.
Would this movie’s main concept work in our society?
Touched by the movie, I was inspired to embark on my own experience to find out if the concept is doable. Since I was just testing the waters, I decided to start small. I asked a few of my friends from around the country to perform a random act of kindness to at least one person and ask that person to pay it forward. I must say I never knew how many skeptical friends I had until I brought up this idea. But in the name of research, they all obliged. The strategy was for my friends not to go out of their daily routines but to be on alert for a perfect stranger who would need some kind of help. It preferably did not involve any money but more importantly, it had to be an act of kindness. While the recipients of this kindness were asked to pay it forward, my friends did not make it appear as though they were doing it only for the research. So, from Ilocos to Baguio, Tarlac to Manila, Iloilo to Cebu, Zamboanga to Cotabato to General Santos my friends were on a mission.
Elsie was one of those who I enlisted to help me. She reported that while in a grocery store in Tarlac, an old disheveled man holding a loaf of bread stood in front of her, counting the change in his hands. In a not-so-discreet voice, the cashier said the old man was P4 short. Embarrassed, the old man left the line, leaving the loaf on the counter. This was Elsie’s moment. She paid for the loaf and ran out after the humiliated man. She said the man stood agape as she tried to hand him the bread. She explained that he reminded her of her own grandfather and resented how the cashier treated him. The old man offered to pay Elsie, minus the P4 of course, but she didn’t accept the money. Instead, she asked the old man to do something nice for another stranger and to ask that stranger to continue the cycle. The old man lapsed into silence as he hesitantly accepted the bread. It was like a handshake and Elsie was somehow assured that he would honor his end of the deal. She did feel very good.
Jerry from Cebu was recruited for the experiment. He was on his way to school when he saw an old couple standing beside their vehicle which had a flat-tire. The old woman was flagging down private vehicles while her husband was evaluating the damage of the tire. Jerry said the old couple looked surprised when he stopped to help. The old lady approached him before he could get out of the car asked if they could borrow his car tools to change the flat tire. Of course, Jerry did more than lend them the tools. He went down on his knees to change the tire for the old couple. When they were set, the man offered to pay Jerry for his trouble. When he didn’t accept the money, the old couple invited him for breakfast. Late for school, Jerry politely refused. Then, he requested them to "pay it forward." The couple immediately understood and promised to do so. Just the same they exchanged telephone numbers. Jerry, orphaned early in life, looks back at the incident and says that they could very well be the parents he never knew.
In Zamboanga, I called on another friend, Beng, to help me out. Her opportunity came when she was in her daughter’s school for the regular parent-teacher one-on-one meeting. One student came running inside the conference room frantically reporting that her classmate had an accident while playing soccer. The school nurse said the girl needed to be brought to the hospital for some stitches. Beng volunteered to bring the obviously pained girl in her car. She held her hand while the doctor stitched her up and stayed until the girl’s parents came. A very thankful couple arrived less than an hour later. Very frightened, the young girl worried that there might be some blood on the upholstery of Beng’s car so the couple insisted that they be allowed to have it cleaned. Beng declined but laid down the request... pay it forward. Again, the couple promised they would do so. In fact, they promised to do three acts of kindness to three perfect strangers. This was all Beng wanted.
Wilson is my arm in Cotabato. He was understandably the most skeptical of all, but because of my insistence to give the project a try, he relented.Wilson owns a grocery store in the city. One morning, a van of catsup, soy sauce and vinegar arrived to make a delivery in their store. Three young men were unloading the boxes when accidentally, on the third trip to the stockroom, one box of catsup fell from the shoulders of one pahinante. Wilson heard the bottles breaking. The van’s supervisor scolded the young man and said that it would be deducted from his salary. Obviously distraught, but owning up to his fault, the young man continued to unload the boxes. This was when Wilson decided to make his move. He told the supervisor to record the box under the store’s account and not charge the young man anymore. Wilson said that the young man was obviously happy but too shy to express himself so he tapped the pahinante’s shoulder and said, "Ingat ka na lang sa susunod. Magpakabait ka ha." Wilson was sure he heard a sigh of relief from the young man.
There are many such tales around the country that my friends have narrated to me but unfortunately I don’t have a record on how the second party passed it on. I guess we will never really know if the recipients of the kindness did their part for others. I can assertively say that for sure the people who embarked on this experiment felt enriched by the experience. All of them felt good about themselves that we agreed to continue doing these random acts as often as possible.
Perhaps in these trying times when the rich, the powerful and the geniuses have not really given us the answers to our problems, we should turn to simple minds with simple ideas like this. We are in times of apathy, distrust and uncertainty. Let us attempt to end the negative vibes and take it upon ourselves to make a positive difference. Perform an act of kindness and ask your recipient to pay it forward. You have so much to gain with little effort. In fact, don’t be surprised if it comes full circle.
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