Smile…even when it hurts…I smile!

As I drive around the city of Nashville, there are always people standing on almost every off-ramp and intersection you can find selling a newspaper called The Contributor.  This newspaper is written and sold by people who are a part of the homeless community in our city.  The vendors of this paper are people who may have been homeless and some who still are but want to work.  They buy the papers for $0.25 and sell them for $1.00.  They are business people.  That is a fabulous return on merchandise!  I think that this program has been so awesome to help people find jobs.  Back to the topic at hand, in one single day I must have encountered at least 15 people selling these newspapers as well as some other people who were veterans or were homeless and needing money.  I didn't have money to give every one of these people.  I wanted to give, but couldn't.  I know I am going to feel this way very often on the race.  

So, what did I do?  Well I bought a paper but just one.  Then I decided to smile and not feel guilty that I am not giving money or buying something from everyone else I meet.  Every single person I smiled at (sometimes I threw in a very spirited wave as well) returned the gift.  I thought I was doing something of value for them, but they were doing something of value for me.  I needed my spirits lifted and a whole bunch of people I don't know did that for me just because I chose not to feel guilty about what I didn't have to give, but chose to give what I could.