Before I'm 31

Then in my final class today we got into a fascinating argument; whether a person should "live to make a difference". While making a difference in the life of others is looked at as an extremely admirable quality by (almost) everyone, the counter-argument was that if you do live to benefit others and make a difference in the world, have you sacrificed living your own life? This continued as classmates pondered such unanswerable questions as, "isn't life more than just living?", and "don't we all have a purpose?", but I dwelled on the idea of whether we should "live to make a difference". Obviously I am well aware of the whole idea of the "butterfly effect" and that every action has a reaction, and thus every decision we make, every action we commit, makes a difference in the lives of countless other people. However, these are unintentional differences in the lives of others, we rarely commit everyday actions in order to positively impact those around us on a large scale. While holding the door for someone, or saying "thank you" may have a positive impact in the short-run, the chances that those actions will impact a person for the rest of their life is miniscule.

While I've gone off on a tangent (as I regret to inform you I may do fairly often), my point is that I do believe it is extremely admirable to "live to make a difference". I find the most overlooked example in our everyday lives is the members of our armed forces. They risk their lives in order to preserve our lifestyle. And without them we would never be "guaranteed" the freedoms we often take for granted. They make a difference on a daily basis, and therefore it would be very hard to argue that fighting to secure our freedom is not living to make a difference, as we are aware of the obvious consequences if they were not so courageous.

I am well aware after a tangent like this I should come up with a goal worth reading this long for. Sorry to disappoint, but it isn't happening tonight.

My goal is random.

It is a rare goal concerned with money, something I try to rarely concern myself with. But it was an act I saw committed a few months ago while at an airport, and I found it to be an amazing gesture of kindness. My hope is that this action helps the recipient, and I also hope that someone is fortunate enough to witness it and continue to pass along this feat, as I hope to someday soon.

So this idea is to tip 5X the amount of the bill.

Yes, 500%.

I saw a man sitting by himself at the airport, reading a book, which is a very normal scene for a casual traveler. His waiter came over and they briefly spoke about the novel he was reading "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman (I listened in, a habit I have, but in my defense I'd read the book and wanted to hear their opinions). After a 10 minute conversation full of in-depth arguments over the future of over-populated areas such as China and India the waiter was called to the kitchen to deliver an order.

After the waiter left the man gathered his belongings, glanced at his check, took a bill out of his wallet, placed it on the table and walked away. Everything seemed normal. The waiter then walked up and opened the check, he immediately ran out into the terminal to search for the patron. The waiter yelled, "Sir, you forgot your change", and the man calmly turned around and replied, "have a nice day". I then saw the waiter stand there in disbelief before coming back into the bar where he turned to a co-worker with a dumbfounded expression on his face and exclaimed, "he left me a hundred dollar bill on a eighteen dollar tab". While everyone at the bar seemed in complete shock, I had nothing but admiration for mysterious patron.

While I could ramble on for hours more about why I think he would commit such an amazing act of charity, I think I've used up enough of your time. The point is, I saw what an impact this spontaneous act of kindness had, and I hope to duplicate it someday.

Hope my ramble in the beginning you found relevant to some part of your life, and I hope my vignette in the end has made you envious of the impact such a small gesture can have.

Oh, and P.S.- I'm sure the whole conversation about "living to make a difference" will come back to be a goal at some point, just haven't quite decided on a goal worth making yet. Remember, I plan to accomplish ALL of these, so I have to be hesitant to commit to rash impulse goals...