Here are two more paper bag adventures. What I love about service, is how good it feels to do. It isn't a burden or a heavy weight. It is something people seem to love to do. I recently gave out well over 50 bags to the volunteer team during a second year weekend at USM (http://www.universityofsantamonica.edu/). I can't wait to hear from more people.

 

"…my car has been filthy for a couple of months now and unfortunately I don't have the means to wash it in the apartment building i live in. So I went to get my car washed with my coupon and while I was waiting for my car to be done I was really looking at the guys who clean the cars and I thought they work so hard and are probably rarely acknowledged. I can only afford to give them 2 or 3 dollars and was thinking how nice it would be to be able to give them more and then WHAM....I remembered your bag and that I had $10 from it that I still needed to give away and I knew I wanted to give it to the guy who was cleaning my car! And I'm sooooooo glad I did. He was so sweet and appreciative. When he looked at the $10 his face lit up like a little kids and he said "This is a lot". I said "well I want to thank you for doing such a good job and acknowledge you for it." He was so thankful and as he walked away I was looking at him in my rear view mirror and watched him show another guy how much he got with a huge smile on his face. HE WAS SO CUTE AND I FELT SOOOOO GOOD! I was on a high for the rest of the day. Thank you Jo Anna.....sincerely for this opportunity.

Love

Alexia"

 

"Hi Jo Anna,

 

I loooove your bag project!!

I'm glad I took 2 bags!  I haven't used the second one yet, but here's my story about this first one:

 

I opened it and inside was a glorious $5.00 bill!!  Well, with my Jewish genetics and the state of the economy today, my first thought was something like - "Oh, I can be of service to myself!!"  Then, of course, the guilt set in so I decided that wasn't a very good idea!!   (Editor's Note: I think being of service to yourself is a totally legit and needed form of service.)

 

I went to bed Saturday night and set an intention to get clarity on what to do with it.  I woke up with no clear direction.  I then did my SE's (a form of medita tion) before I went to USM and at the end of my SE's it was VERY clear - bring it back to USM and give it to Ron and Mary as a seed for 50 million dollars for the web project!!!  I was able to catch them as they were arriving and gave it to them.  Ron asked for the bag as well so he could see what you are doing, so I couldn't pass that one on, but I have another one - after I use it, I'll put a surprise in it and pass it on!

 

I felt really great about doing that.  It seemed like a very special $5.00!!

 

Thank you for offering this to us all.  I'm excited to read what other folks have done!

Much Loving to you and Light to your project!

In joy,

Berti"

 

Here's another one!

"I loved your idea, I sent the card in my Bag to my God Mother because her name came to me when I opened it, put some cash in the bag and gave it to a friend who lives in MA. 

What fun!  Love and light, Brenda"

One of my favorites

I felt called to put a variety of objects in the bags other than cash and cards. I put in stickers and journals and jewelry I made, just to name a few. It felt kind of like a dare…to use things we may have around to share the goodness. This e-mail feels very validating to that intuitive hit. It is also incredibly sweet and loving act of service.

"Hi Jo Anna!

I think this is a brilliant project. I hope you write a book about it! 

Here's a bag update for you.

My bag contained a few little cards of children's stickers. Mostly Disney characters like Winnie the Pooh, Tinker Bell, and Some Princesses. I had no idea what to do with them at first, as I have an 11-year-old daughter who has TONS of those kind of stickers laying around already, and this just seemed like a few more of the same.

But it did give me a chance to pause and see the stickers (which I usually just perceive as part of the mess in my daughter's room) in isolation and as something potentially very fun.  So that was worth a grin, and I decided to put the bag aside and wait until inspiration would come.

Well, it didn't come. I was cleaning out my office yesterday and found the bag and was tempted just to throw it away because I had no idea what to do with a few more kids stickers. Then I realized that my daughter and one of her friends were playing together outside, and they might have an idea or two. I took them the entire bag, with the instructions on it, and asked if they could think of something to do with it.

They came back in a few minutes later asking for some eggs!! I gave them the eggs and they poked holes in them and blew out the guts. Then they carefully rinsed and dried the shells, got out their crayons and the stickers from the bag, decorated the egg shells, ran colorful pieces of yarn through them and hung them on a branch they chose from outside.  Then they took the entire branch (a decorated "egg tree" if you will) upstairs to an elderly, wheelchair bound neighbor of ours who was beside herself with delight at the sight of this beautiful egg tree that will now enliven her home for Easter.

So there you go! The idea works, even if it's not always immediately evident HOW it's going to work!  :-)

Thanks for the chance to play.

Take care,

Lynn"

NEXT ACTION STEPS

I would love to connect with some teachers and have a class participate in The Brown Paper Bag Project.

My ideal scene would be to work, initially, with one elementary class and one high school class. I would come in and do a brief presentation and discussion on the project. Each kid would get a bag and have to use it in an act of service. My thought was that it could be used as a writing or art project (or even film project) for the class, with the students documenting what they did with the bags. I could come back in, if appropriate, and the class could do a presentation.

If you are a teacher or a parent or know one is might want to do this or just want a bag of your own, let me know.

Thanks!

I have just finished making up about 100 bags. They are filled with lots of fun stuff to inspire people to be of service. I am excited to start giving them out.

I've been thinking a lot about what service means. There are a few Merriam-Webster definitions that seem to go along well with this project:

"a: the work performed by one that serves <good service> b:
help , use , benefit <glad to be of service> c: contribution to the welfare of others

the act of serving: as a: a helpful act <did him a service> "

I like the "helpful act" bit along with "contribution to the welfare of others" part. A helpful act can be a smile, a prayer, a donation, a gift, a kind word. The sky is only limited by our imagination and willingness. I like doing this project because I feel like it dares people to think, sometimes outside of the box or their comfort zone, about how they can contribute to the world given what they have. And everyone seems to get really excited about the process. I never imagined that people would be as inspired as they have been to continuing to spread the goodness in their own ways. People are passing on the bags, making their own bags and inspiring others. I think this whole thing is gonna be really fun.

I recommend Carolyn Myss's Invisible Acts of Power for an in depth look at the subject of service.

Here is another awesome tale of service from the amazing Shelley:

"What happened exactly was that I was in Pavilions and there was an older woman (mother) in a wheelchair shopping with what I later learned was her adult daughter.  The mother was really sounding irritated because her daughter was putting items in the grocery cart that the mother was loudly advising that she couldn't afford because she only had $20. The daughter sounded frustrated because her mother was speaking to her in the way only a mother can when a mother is irritated. So, that is when you came to mind Jo Anna, at that moment I remembered that you suggested that we pay it forward. I got the daughter's attention and asked if it would be ok for me to give her the additional $10 to support her with her shopping. I told her about you and your intention to pay it forward ... they just kept saying THANK YOU JESUS! GOD BLESS YOU! GOD BLESS YOUR FRIEND!"

 

Assistance and more goodness

I am open to suggestions on how to expand this project. People seem to be really excited and receptive to it. Some opportunities have presented themselves to hand out even more bags and spread the goodness even further. I am really open to the universe making this happen…I am out of the "how" business. I am in the receiving business…and giving from the overflow.

I got another e-mail about a bag!

"I had a beautiful card!! I sent it to my friend who is possibly facing foreclosure. Thank you so much,

I think about her a lot and this was just great to send to her.

 
 

love and blessings,

Andrea"

 

Sometimes it is lovely to be wrong

I was so deliciously wrong about how Hilary got the bag (and the contents)from Carol. The real story is so much better. Carol is going to write up her adventures and I will share them with you!

Also, Laurel (http://www.illuminatingsouls.com) shared what she did with her bag:

"I completed my Brown Paper Bag assignment and gifted the funds to the Random Acts of Kindness Project! Thank you for allowing me to play angel with you!"

You can find out more about the Random Acts of Kindness Project at: http://www.spreadkindness.org/

And finally, if you happen to be reading this and are at USM this weekend, find me and I will give you a bag! Or at least make sure you get one soon.

More bags have been handed out. I gave some to a group of my co-workers during a training. I am excited to see magic they spread.

I am surprised and excited to see how people want to pass on the bags. People want to share the contents they are given and then give the bags to others. I love this development.

Here are some more tales of service I've received. The first woman, Hilary, was given a bag by a fellow USM volunteer, Carol. From what I put together, Carol used the money in her bag to buy a candle and included a quote. Here is what she said:

"I got a yummy candle and a beautiful quote re. friends being the gardeners of the soul – I immediately knew it was for my boyfriend and when I gave it to him after a particularly tough day as an elementary school teacher he was pleased. He is my "gardener."
oxo
Hilary"

Natasha also shared her experience in paying it forward:

"I am writing to let you know what I did with the $70 that I found in the two brown bags that you so generously brought to the 1st-year reading weekend.

 
 

Here is where it went:

 
 

$20 - Teenage homeless shelter

$50 - to a woman that works for the Child Protective Services in the County in Santa Barbara who could not afford to pay for physical therapy.

 
 

Thank you again for including us in your generous project.

Light to you and big hugs,

Natasha"

 

Love it!

I've got some more tales of service. I love this one because they seemed to have a great time with it AND I don't even know this person…it was passed on from one of my friends to their friends.

"My husband was given a brown bag with a movie card in it. Our friend, Ayana who gave it to him explained the rules so he came home and shared the bag with me. I have a dear friend who is a workaholic who forgets to make time for herself so I thought to pass the bag to her. I wanted the bag to be meaningful so I focused on love. I added an agate stone with a card explaining the virtues of agate for clearing one's spirit from anger and making way for love. The card also had instructions on how to cleanse the stone for one's use. I also put two jasmine tea bulbs for her to enjoy with someone and some oolong rose tea. She loved the little brown bag surprise as much as I enjoyed preparing it. However, the best part of my story concerns my 3 year old son who was so inspired by my little project that he decided to make his own "special bag." He selected to give a jasmine tea bulb to a woman I work with. We had seen her the day before and she was on his mind. He wanted to pick a pretty bag, so he grabbed a bright blue plastic mesh baggie, the kind that garlic bulbs are packaged in at markets, and he put a single jasmine tea bulb in it. Next he picked a ribbon and asked me to tie "pretty" around the baggie for our friend. He was really proud of his baggie and now he wants to make more to give to other people. Your brown bag project is a simple gift, but it has the potential to fill a moment, or days in our case, with wonder, creative impulse and smiles. Thank you!"

 

My mom has also been playing along in her own way. She gives out gift cards to Publix, the supermarket chain in her neck of the woods. Here's what she wrote:

"Today I gave out two Publix gift cards to a man who was preaching on the corner of Glades and St. Andrews in Boca Raton. He blessed me as I gave him the first card and showed me that he lost 40 pounds. Not because he wanted to. I thought he was talking to himself as I closed the window, and that's when I realized that he was spreading the word of Jesus. So I gave him another card. He blessed me again.

I'm sending my best friend Kathy, $200. to buy Publix gift cards for one of her classes to give out as they please. Then, I hope, they write an essay to place on the blog. Updates to follow."

More and More

The project continues! I've made up some more bags and have had fun passing them out.

I gave a few to my co-workers. I also left 2 on the windshields of the cars next to me at the Calabasas Farmer's market. I was a little worried that people might get mad or feel pressured to participate. But I really felt like doing it, so I did. I'm really curious to see if those folks come back and report their adventures. I also gave one to a group of girl scouts selling cookies near the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. They seemed excited to participate. That may have had something to do with the cookies I bought…

In other news, Stephanie W., one of my awesome fellow USM readers shared her happenings with her Brown Paper Bag. She posted in the comments, but I wanted to share it in a post too.

 

"Thanks for this wonderful lesson on giving. I have definitely had the brown bag on the mind and today a man drove up to me at the gas station and asked to borrow $15 to fix his flat tire. He is a girls basketball coach and the bus left with his money and backpack on it and he didn't have a spare tire. He had already filled the tire up a couple of times and he was in Westchester. My brown bag held $5 and originally I had wanted to contribute some of my own money to the gifting experience. So I held that as an intention and this is what the Universe brought me :) I gave him a $20 and told him not to worry about getting it back to me. He was very gracious and I like knowing he made it safely back to his home in Encino. I only wish I had told him about the brown paper bag of service so that if he wanted to pay it forward he could and I wish I gave it to him in the bag...it just makes for a good story - ya know? :) Anyway - thanks again for the initiating this experience and I look forward to another round!"

Round 2

Thank you to the 10 people who agreed to play along for round 2.
I'm sending out the bags today. Have fun!

There will be plenty more opportunities to play, so just make your desire known (comment or e-mail me at jodane1@hotmail.com) and I will put you on the list.

Brown Paper Bag Adventures

People are starting to write in about their experiences about their acts of service from the first round of this project. Here are some tales:

"Hey there – So, I got an opportunity to offer my brown bag gift to someone today – his name is Bishop. I went to the gas station tonight with my youngest son. When I pulled in I saw him there with his guitar and for an instant thought to myself – oh – he’s going to ask for something. So, when I got out of the car I said hello and minded my own business. He was talking to another man. He had asked him for money and he had said “no” but Bishop said “it’s alright man, god bless you” That made me pay attention. Then he began playing his guitar. He sang and played his guitar with such joy in his heart – it was beautiful. I went up to him and asked him his name. I asked him what his favorite song was and he played me some reggae music. I felt him through his music. I went over and shook his hand and handed him the money. He hugged me and said god bless you to me as well. I told him it was beautiful to see his joy through his music. His guitar was old and tattered – held together with wires and only three strings, but the music that came from it was fluid and harmonious.

Thank you for gifting me with the honor of meeting Bishop. I don’t know if I would have stopped had the brown bag not been on my mind.

Lots of love to you for all that you are and for bringing this project forward.

Abundant Blessings,

Sabrina
Sabrina Teiger, MA
Intuitive Guide
www.sabrinateiger.com"


Karen posted this in the comments, but I thought I would post here to share it with everyone.

"I sent off my 'gift in a bag' this afternoon to a friend who is about to lose her home. I told her how much her friendship means to me and hoped that the lottery ticket (the gift in the bag) would bring some cash her way!
Thanks Jo Anna, I am inspired by this gift of service and started my own version today.
Blessings, Karen E."

And lastly, Alexa R. supported DARE with a donation and received a puzzle book she is using with her therapy clients (she got a double whammy out of her bag).

Thanks All! I can't wait to hear more.

Clarifications and other stuff

In response to some e-mails I’ve gotten, I wanted to make some clarifications.

My intention with this project is to inspire others to be of service and spread the goodness.

This is how it works:

You get a randomly chosen brown paper bag. Inside the bag is a gift. That gift could be cash, a gift card, a greeting card...anything really. Your mission is to use whatever is in the bag in an act of service. Maybe you donate the money to a charity, leave an anonymous, uplifting note or share the gift card with someone who needs it. The possibilities are endless. There are no rules to how you use it, other then it be used in an act of service.

After your Pay It Forward Adventure, you contact me (via e-mail or the blog) and let me know what happened.

There are 3 ways to play along.

1. Let me know you want to participate by e-mailing me your address (jodane1@hotmail.com) and I will include you in the coming rounds. I will send a bag to you. You can use the contents of the bag in act of service, or pass the bag along to someone to help inspire them be of service. And of course, report back.

2. Make your own paper bags to inspire your friends and loved ones. You can attach the following note to your bag:

Inside this bag is a gift.
It is a gift for you to give.
Please use the contents of this bag in act of service service…whatever that means to you.
After you share the goodness and do your act of service,
please report adventures by commenting at
http://mybrownpaperbagproject.blogspot.com/
or e-mailing
jodane1@hotmail.com
Thanks and have fun!

3. Donate something for future bags. Some ideas are money, gift cards, lotto tickets, inspirational notes, crafts, t-shirts, socks, sticky notes, stickers, pens, postage stamps. The sky’s the limit. If you would like to send something just e-mail me and I will pass along my address. If you live in LA, I can come pick it up.

ALSO, People have also been asking what I mean by an act of service. Really, I want people to use whatever is in the brown paper bag that the get to spread joy and/or to help someone or something.

How you choose to take action is totally up to you. I suggest setting an intention for the perfect opportunity to use whatever is in your bag to present itself to you.

Much Love,
Jo Anna

For your bags and other stuff

Susan B. asked if I had a template for what to say on or in the bags...I didn't. But I do now. See below.

ALSO, If you would like to donate something to this little project, like cards, notes, art, candy, cash...really anything good...I would totally accept it and use it for future bags.

HERE'S THE NOTE FOR THE BAGS:


Inside this bag is a gift.
It is a gift for you to give.
Please use the contents of this bag in service…whatever that means to you.
After you share the goodness
and do your act of service, please report adventures by commenting at
http://mybrownpaperbagproject.blogspot.com/
or e-mailing
jodane1@hotmail.com
Thanks and have fun!

The Brown Paper Bag Project

My Brown Paper Bag Project

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to be of service, share the goodness and inspire others to do the same. This is an experiment I decided to do this past weekend, but people seemed pretty jazzed about it so I wanted to share.

I had been given a nice gift of some cash (thanks Mom!). I knew that I wanted to use a chuck of the money for good and I thought it would be fun to involve my team of volunteer readers at USM. SO…I divided the moola up and put it (and other fun things like lotto tickets, cards, gift cards, sticky notes and stuffed animals) into brown paper bags. I invited the readers to pick a bag and use the contents in service, whatever that meant to them. What I wanted was to know, what they did and what happened. At the suggestion of my friend Laurel, I decided to make a blog about this project and people's escapes with the bags. http://mybrownpaperbagproject.blogspot.com/

I used my paper bag to perpetuate this little project. I gave it to my waiter with the same instructions and my e-mail address so he could share his adventures.
I really want to keep the goodness going. So, I have decided to give at least 1 paper bag out every week to inspire people to be of service.
I want to invite all of you to play along to. Feel free to make a paper bag of your own. If you feel called, put my e-mail address (jodane1@hotmail.com) or the blog address (http://mybrownpaperbagproject.blogspot.com/) on the bag so we can track what comes of it.

Or, if you would like send me your info and I will include you on the next round of paper bags. In fact, for the first 10 people who comment here or on the blog I will send a paper bag with goodies inside. Your job will be to use the contents to be of service and report back.

I am open to other suggestions about how to keep this all going.
Much love,
Jo Anna