Using Generosity for Sneaky Gratitude

It was a beautiful day a couple of weeks ago, and I knew I was making a choice that would impact my whole day.

I knew it would be good, but I couldn’t have known how long the ripple effect would last. Maybe I still don’t know for sure how my choice made an impact that day.

All my life, I’ve had tried and true things I know I’m always going to be thankful for and up there among those are good friends and good food.  Who doesn’t like their friends and food, right?

My friend told me about a local nonprofit-type event, and when we talked about it, I thought it sounded amazing, but I almost forgot about it. I’m so thankful she didn’t forget to invite me when the time for the event rolled around though. I said, “Sure, I’d love to go!” I knew my choice to go was going to be a good one, and I even anticipated feeling good about going.

It almost felt sneaky, like it was cheating to know ahead of time that I was going to go do this good or generous thing that would also make me feel great.

The event was “Empty Bowls,” which is a grassroots effort to fight hunger. It started in 1990 as a high school project in Michigan. But, here we are in 2017, and I learned about our town’s event through my friend for whom I’m so thankful.

The particular event I attended was hosted by a local bookstore and restaurant, with many other supporting sponsors. The idea is that local artists donate handcrafted bowls and a simple meal is served. To participate, you purchase the bowl or bowls of your choosing, enjoy your meal, and the money the event raises is donated to a local food pantry.

These types of events happen all over, and you can find some information regarding them at Empty Bowls. However, to find a local event, your best bet is to Google “Empty Bowls + the name of your city or state.”

So, I was in a great mood. I parked a block or two away and walked my happy self out to the event. A cheerful woman asked me if I was here for “Empty Bowls” and I replied, “Yes, ma’am!” with a big smile. She showed me where to enter and I soon found my friend and her friends.

We chatted and looked around. Displayed across five or so eight-foot tables were all of the handcrafted bowls. I found mine by color and shape, but when I picked it up and held it, I loved it even more because it had imperfections—just little rough spots, but it was handmade and now it was mine.

It had “Empty Bowls” etched into the bottom, and I knew I’d remember where it came from forever.

Turns out one of the sponsors for the event was the local zoo, so before enjoying our meal, we also got to meet Mo the sloth and take a picture with her! My mood just kept on bubbling up, and I was so happy and thankful to be there.

We ran into some students from the local university where we work. Then, my friend and her friends hung around while I ate (they were going to take their meal home and enjoy it later). I picked a loaded potato soup from a local restaurant. It was perfect and salty, and I ate it all up until I could hear my spoon scraping the bottom of my to-go cup.

I was thankful for every little bit of the experience. The idea of what we were doing, the sloth encounter, the fact that I could feel a connection to the local community, the sunny warm weather, the one lone acoustic guitar player, and of course the people. Everyone was happy and friendly.

My thankful and happy mood did not end when I walked away though. It didn’t even end when a train was stopped and blocking me from walking back the few blocks to my car. I was there, alone, stewing in my thankful thoughts, as I walked around looking for a way around the train.

At first I didn’t find one, but I found a downtown street I hadn’t been to before, therefore discovering a few local little shops and such. My good mood and fully gratified heart turned right around and decided to go around the train the other way—the path that followed the train but wasn’t paved near the tracks. I even thought about being thankful for the crunching sound my feet made on the rocks as I made my way down and around the train to another street.

I was headed to my favorite local bagel shop to bring home bagels for my husband and me because, thankfully, he had the day off. Upon arriving, my happiness continued because even though it was kind of late on a Saturday, they hadn’t run out of everything bagels yet. Win for me!

Somewhere in that day, thinking about how thankful I was for so much, it occurred to me that someone was thanking me for my participation as well. I didn’t feel so sneaky when that thought occurred to me. At some point, the money I spent for my empty bowl, cup of soup, unsweet tea, and priceless memories of that day are going to help feed a hungry family.

Maybe it will put them in a really good mood on the day they are able to receive the food that they need. Maybe they’ll walk around being happy and thankful that whole day. Who knows? Maybe they’ll make a choice that benefits someone else too. That day or some other day.

The next time you are choosing generosity to feel some sneaky gratitude, I hope it puts you in such a good mood as it did for me. If you feel called to donate to a local food bank or pantry during this Thanksgiving month, check foodpantries.org or feedingamerica.org.

Of course, also, maybe you can find an Empty Bowls event near you and walk away with a keepsake of your own.