I saw a video recently that shook something loose inside me.

An eighty eight year old retired military man…standing at the front door of a grocery chain…greeting customers with the kind of tired smile that carries more story than words ever could...

He was not there because he wanted something to do...he was there because life had taken things from him he never expected to lose.

He had worked for GM…trusted the pension…trusted the medical coverage…trusted the promises that were supposed to protect him in the years when a person should finally be able to breathe.

Then the deal changed...not a conversation...not a negotiation...just gone.

His pension disappeared…his medical coverage vanished…and when his wife got sick he spent every dollar he had left to take care of her.

Savings gone…house sold…starting over at an age when most people are winding down and enjoying the little bit of rest they earned through decades of work.

And then he lost his wife...seven years ago.

Still grieving...still grinding…still showing up every morning with a smile on his face…carrying a weight most people will never see.

Someone heard about him and started a GoFundMe for him…and it has raised more than $1.7 million...

Total strangers…lifting a person they will never meet…because something in them recognized the weight he was carrying.

And it hit me…hard...

I have seen videos like this before...strangers paying for someone’s groceries...helping families with Christmas gifts...quietly slipping cash to someone who is struggling.

No spotlight...no applause...just a quiet act of generosity that restores your faith in people.

It affects me every single time...

Maybe because I know what struggle feels like...maybe because I know what it is like to carry something heavy and still show up for the people you love...maybe because deep down we all want to know there are people who would help us even if they never get credit for it.

Quiet generosity…the kind that is not posted…the kind that is not recorded…the kind that is not turned into a social media moment…that is the kind that transforms the person receiving it and the person giving it.

It is the kind that comes from a place of love…not performance.

I cannot imagine a better use of wealth…than giving it away.

Not to impress anyone...not to be seen as good or noble or charitable...not for legacy.

Just because it is who I want to be.

Someone who helps people stand again when life knocks them flat...someone who remembers what it feels like when the bills pile up…when the pressure gets heavy…when the nights get long…when your heart carries more than your hands can hold.

Someone who refuses to look away from struggle when it shows up in someone else’s eyes...someone who understands that abundance is not something you hoard…it is something you share.

And here is the truth that most people miss…you do not need millions to live that way.

You do not need a foundation...you do not need a charity...you do not need a production crew...you do not even need recognition.

You can start small...

Hold the door.
Cover someone’s coffee.
Pay for a stranger’s lunch.
Give your grocery cart to a mom who looks overwhelmed.
Leave a generous tip for a server who is clearly having a day.
Write a note to someone who needs encouragement.
Check on a neighbour who lives alone.

Show up....be present...be human.

Do something for someone today…quietly…anonymously…expecting nothing in return.

That is real wealth...that is real leadership...that is the kind of person I want to be...and the kind of person I want my kids to see.

Because generosity is not about money…it is about heart…and heart is something every single one of us can give away…starting right now.

The world is still full of good people…and we get to decide whether we become one of them.

By Chris Errington