“Their joy – that’s the gift to you.”

Not long ago, I saw a Steve Hartman segment featuring some school kids who were inspired by a Secret Santa to raise and give away literally thousands of dollars to strangers in need. (Please watch the segment here if you haven’t seen it, which includes the above quote.) This was truly a life-changing experience for these students. You could see their joy expand in real time as their gifts touched the lives of their neighbors.

Fast forward to today. I ran home for lunch, but noticed two little girls with buckets of flowers set up on a bench in their front yard. Thinking this was a twist on a lemonade stand, I pulled over to buy a bundle. Much to my surprise, however, these flowers weren’t for sale. They were free.

These little girls were spending what remained of their Christmas break giving away flowers to strangers. I was absolutely tickled. I asked them to pick out what they wanted me to have, promising that I’d share with my friends back at my office. I tried again to pay them, but they were not having it. I started to insist and press the issue, but then I stopped myself.

My joy — that would be my gift to them.

Like the Secret Santa students, the girls understood one of life’s fundamental truths: the more you give, the more your abundance expands. If I had continued to insist upon paying them or doing something for them in return, I would have deprived them of my gratitude and the joy that comes when you give from your heart.

So I accepted their blooms with my sincere and delighted thanks, got back into my car and drove away. When I glanced in my rearview mirror, the girls were giddily hopping up and down and high-fiving each other. They’d made a stranger happy. And that made them happy. And we’d each received the perfect gifts.