As anyone who lives in or visits a city knows, parking can be difficult and keeping track of feeding the meter is an added challenge at times. I normally park in a garage, but this week I grabbed a street space in order to run a few packages out of my place and into the car. I dutifully put four quarters into the meter to buy myself an hour which was definitely a more than ample amount of time. On my third trip down I found a $25 parking ticket on my windshield. Quickly I realized that I had made an error and put my quarters into the wrong meter. So while I had to write out a check to the city, the person behind me was spared because I unknowingly fed his meter!
This experience got me thinking about the simple kindness of feeding a meter for someone else and allowing them to spend the $25 they would have paid in a fine on something that will spread kindness and compassion forward. As an example, I frequently volunteer at a charity that can feed an individual for one week with a $25 donation. What an impact!
So, I have allocated $10 in quarters to paying meters for other people. If I am walking down the street and see a meter flashing I will pop a quarter in and give the gift of 15 minutes in the hopes the recipient will in turn pay the kindness forward.
