Pay-It-Forward Massage Therapist

--by dreamin2being, posted Apr 17, 2008

Since I joined this website last week, I was mulling about how to incorporate acts of kindness into my life as a regular practice. I was truly inspired!

I am a massage therapist and have my own practice. What I decided to do is to no longer keep my tips; instead, I would use that money towards giving someone a free massage. For instance, I charge $75/hour. When there is $75 worth of tips given, I will offer someone in need -- who cannot afford the massage otherwise -- a free one.

Well, no sooner had I hatched this plan that a client called me and said she had to cancel based on financial difficulties. Guess who got the freebee?!?

The beautiful thing is that this woman just lost her father and is in a large financial dispute over bills, even though her father was a wealthy man. She has been going through grief and anger and all sorts of emotional difficulties. When she accepted the gift of the free session, she said to me, "Just this morning, my partner was telling me I need to learn to accept help from others. Normally I wouldn't accept this, but I feel you're offering me a chance to learn to receive and that I don't need to do it all by myself."

Thanks for inspiring me!

4165 Reads

Posted by dreamin2being
Apr 17, 2008
Comments (25)

Readers Comments

BetterU wrote: Sounds great! I'm looking in to something similar but having difficulty defining someone in need clearly.

Sarah Harford wrote: So happy to hear your story. I just decided to do the same thing in my practice! :)

praveendm wrote: Iam an adict to this site now...I just can't start my day or end my day without reading the amazing experiences of my fello brothers nd sister here...

Connie wrote: Inspiring story.

dan wrote: you guys sound great. i google'd people who need help and came accross this site. pretty inspiring.

cinnamonhead wrote: welcome to the site! that was a very nice thing that you did keep up the good work!

kiran wrote: WOW.....that is so awesome!!!! you rock!!!! people like you do make the world a better place!....god bless u !!!!!!

Jane wrote: The "pay-it-forward" gesture is so powerful, especially for the initial giver. While I think that Oprah's "gift show" is a nice idea, I believe that it would mean so much more if she were doing it "undercover", meant to never be known, or at least not known until after she has departed this earth. JMHO.

jeri wrote: I love people like you! What a great idea!

sweetpj wrote: oh, how sweet! thank you for reminding me we can all find a way to give :) BIG HUG TO YOU!

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