Every year, I try to make time to give something back.
It’s a way of reminding myself that, however busy life becomes, there is always space to support something worthwhile — particularly when it’s a cause that means something to you personally.
Last year, my friend Dawn and I took on a walking challenge that involved us driving down the M4 at some ungodly hour just to make the start time.
Despite the early morning, it turned out to be one of those days that stays with you.
It was beautiful, uplifting and inspiring. Along the way, we met so many people, each walking for their own reasons. Some of the stories we heard were incredibly sad, but they were also motivational. Everyone had something or someone that had brought them there that day.
This year, I’m doing something rather different.
I’m holding a coffee morning at home to raise money for Breast Cancer Now.
This particular charity resonates deeply with me because I lost my mum to breast cancer more than 40 years ago.
It seems extraordinary to write that — more than 40 years — because there is still rarely a day that passes when I don’t think about her.
So, raising a little money to help other people affected by breast cancer feels worthwhile. I know my coffee morning isn’t going to change the world, but perhaps that isn’t really the point.
If the money we raise contributes in some small way towards research, treatment or supporting someone going through breast cancer today, then it matters.
But giving back doesn’t always have to mean signing up for a challenge, raising hundreds of pounds or supporting a charity.
Sometimes it can be something incredibly small.
There’s something I try to practise whenever I can that I call “Pass It On.”
The idea is very simple: you give something without expecting anything in return.
Recently, we were leaving a campsite and realised we had a few shower tokens left over. They were no use to us once we left, so we gave them to the couple staying in the van next to ours.
They were grateful.
We felt good.
That was it.
There was no grand gesture and no expectation that they would do anything for us in return. But perhaps another day, when they have something they no longer need, they’ll remember those shower tokens and pass something on to somebody else.
And that’s what I love about it.
Giving back doesn’t have to be big to have value.
It could be giving your time to someone who needs it, donating something you no longer use, supporting a local cause, buying an extra item for the food bank, helping a neighbour or simply doing something kind when the opportunity presents itself.
Sometimes we can become so caught up in what we need to achieve, earn, buy or get done that it’s good to turn our attention outwards for a while and ask:
What can I give?
Not because we want recognition.
Not because we expect something back.
Simply because we can.
So however you choose to do it, I would encourage you to give back with a full heart and see where it takes you.
It might help someone else.
It might inspire them to pass something on.
And you may be surprised by how much it gives back to you too.
Before You Go…
Before you go, I’d like to leave you with a little challenge.
Sometime this week, find your own way to pass it on.
It doesn’t need to cost anything, and nobody else needs to know you’ve done it. Give something you don’t need to someone who could use it. Offer your time. Help somebody out. Donate to a cause that matters to you. Or simply take an opportunity to be kind when one presents itself.
Then leave it there.
No favour owed. No thank you needed. No expectation of anything in return.
I think there’s something rather lovely about putting a little bit of good out into the world and not needing to know where it goes next.
And perhaps, if enough of us pass it on, those small things aren’t really so small after all.
Until next time,
Paula xx www.tenaciouswellness.co.uk