AlexShalman.comPractical Personal Development

It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.
~Albert Einstein

I’m currently in the application process for NYU Dental school, so I decided to intern there as of a few months ago. I think it’s important for me to see how a dental school clinic is run, get a chance to work with students and faculty, and be able to formulate a clear opinion as to whether I think this school is for me.

Twice a week I commute to New York City from New Jersey, which takes me anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. This includes driving to the bus station, taking the bus to New York, and then transferring to a second bus to take me to the other side of the city.

This morning, while waiting for the second bus transfer, I noticed a dollar right in the middle of the five lane street. I looked at it, looked away, looked back, saw it looking back at me, but for some reason I really didn’t feel compelled to race across the street and snatch it up.

It’s only a dollar, it’s not that important to me to have that one dollar, so I think I’ll just leave it there, I thought.

While standing there, playing peekaboo with the dollar, I remembered a story that my fourth grade teacher told me, about her encounter with a dollar bill laying on the floor. This lovable teacher of mine was quite overweight, and as the story goes, when she bent down to pick up the dollar, her pants split in half!

Back then the class and I found this story to be absolutely hilarious. Why else would I remember it so many years after the fact? Looking back now I can only imagine how embarrassing it must have been to walk around with pants that were ripped wide open at the butt.

Not that I thought my pants were going to split, but I just didn’t want to cross the street for it. The bus arrived shortly after, I got on, paid, and took a seat by the window. A gust of wind had blown this dollar right up to the sidewalk where I was standing, and into my field of vision, just as a man was passing by.

This man picked up the dollar, held it up to the sky with such pride, as if this was Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, or as if he had won the lottery. His smile beamed and his happiness resonated. I could tell what the man was thinking; today was going to be HIS day.

I don’t know what the moral of the story is here. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure? It’s better to give than to receive? I don’t know, I was just inspired by this man’s radiating smile and wanted to share it with you.

One thing is for sure, it definitely stands out in my mind more than other times when I just handed someone a dollar that asked for it. Do you think there is a synchronicity in the types of giving that we can do? Is it better to give when someone asks, to give without them knowing, or to give them an opportunity? Just something to ponder.

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