Pay it Forward – Five Ways Your Thankfulness Can Create Life Balance

Ever hear of a bear ranch? There's one in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, just north of Newberry. Yessir, da Yoopers do it up big, eh? (Hey, if they can call us Trolls in the Lower Peninsula, we can make fun of the way they talk, can’t we?) According to the website, this is the largest bear-only ranch in the country and a safe haven for abandoned cubs. 

My family took a day this summer to tour Oswald’s Bear Ranch before heading to Tahquamenon Falls for more pictures…and walking…and ice cream. It was worth the drive and a nice way to spend the afternoon. 

Along with the per-car entry charge, we could buy Dixie cups of Apple Jacks for bear feeding. Or we could buy apples...not that we could actually feed the bears from our hands, but we could throw the food toward them.  

I’m thinking, How much fun could that be?!? I soon learned when another tourist bought a bag of the Grannys and the bears caught sight or whiff (or both).   

The males went to great lengths for a chance at a piece of fruit—sitting pretty, clapping their padded paws together, and crooning—oftentimes all at once. The females were a little more demure. These black bears, averaging 300 to 400 pounds each, almost seemed human as they lumbered around together, bumping into one another, and running toward us from the other side of the fence in greeting (or maybe in hopes of another apple).

As my sister and I rounded a corner at the base of an upward trail, a man passed us from the other direction. He took an apple from the bag in the crook of his left arm and hoisted it over the fence with his right. We had just been talking to, or rather at, a female bear before we saw him. So we knew the apple wouldn’t rest, undisturbed, for long. 

I didn’t think much more about the bear as my focus shifted toward discussions with my sister. My brother-in-law waited for us at the top of the hill. “What did you guys do to that bear?" he said. "She’s been walking with you since you started up the path.” Sure enough, the same bear we had talked to at the hill’s base stood beside us.

It must have been the apple! She must have thought we threw it, reasoning that she might just snag another if she stayed close. Either that or she was absorbing the news my sister and I shared from the world beyond her fence. 

I had no idea where the apple man had gone—no way of thanking him for his generosity. Really, the only way I could thank him was to pay that thankfulness forward onto someone else. It got me thinking about the many times others have paved the way for me at work or in my personal life; all the while I'm caught up in my oblivious ignorance until I reap the blessing. Can I truly unravel it all and thank each one who took part in my success?

I wondered how I might communicate thankfulness in my interactions, even if the words "thank you" don't pass my lips. When I tied that idea to life balance, I couldn't resist sharing my list with you.

1. Greetings: This is almost a lost art nowadays. Kids are raised not to talk to strangers; I support their parents’ concern as they dole out this advice. Our downside, though, is that we’re raising a generation of children who don’t have the courage to look people in the eye. Eye contact, smiles, nods, waves, handshakes, and hugs all have their place as we greet one another with a simple, “Good morning,” or, “Hello.” They demonstrate care and concern—thankfulness—for the person we’re greeting. They also convey confidence, a sense of purpose, and an awareness of surroundings—all things that will tell a stranger who is bent on doing harm to look for someone a little more vulnerable. 
2. Listening with our whole selves: We can assure others that we’re listening with our body language (facing the other, nodding encouragement, keeping an open posture), watching and responding to their body language, refraining from distractions (even distractions inside our own heads like, Hmmm…let me see, what will I say in return?), and paraphrasing our understanding of their message back to them.
3. Acknowledgements and Compliments: I’m thinking less of compliments like, “Gee, that’s a nice dress,” and more words of affirmation like, “I really appreciated what you had to say about….” This only takes a moment, yet we validate another’s opinions and invite future sharing when we invest in this segment of time.
4. Bragging on others: When we look for the good in others, we find it. When we proclaim the good in others, we perpetuate it. This holds true whether we’re bragging on a stranger or a spouse, an enemy or a best friend.
5. Bestowing a blessing: I once interviewed for a position where I anticipated working with someone I long admired. When he called to tell me I got the job, he also said that he had just taken another opportunity outside the company. I was thankful for this promotion yet disappointed that I wouldn’t work with this guy. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “You’re a person who creates her own opportunities.” Though this happened many years ago, I will never forget his words. This man who only knew me from an interview bestowed a blessing on me that I would spend the rest of my career striving to fulfill. I think of how Jesus bestowed blessings by laying his hands on others. I think of the blessings I’ve accepted when someone holds a door for me or helps stabilize me when I stumble or assists me when I carry too heavy a burden. And I think, I can do that, too. And when I do, I not only bestow a blessing but gain one.

In what ways might you pay your thankfulness forward?

Enjoy your day. Enjoy this blog.

www.oswaldsbearranch.com 

http://www.exploringthenorth.com/tahqua/tahqua.html