40-DAY GRATITUDE CHALLENGE: Day 2 -- Who Do You Know That You Can Never Repay?

You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you. -- John Wooden 

The Idea: We receive countless tangible and intangible gifts from the world around us. Whether it's from parents, teachers, colleagues, or a stranger on a bus, we often find ourselves recipients of gifts that cannot be paid back to the giver -- but can only be paid-forward. Today, reflect upon someone from whom you have received, but who you cannot directly repay. Deepen the texture of your appreciation by describing your relationship or encounter with this person in writing. Then do something special today to honor the gifts you received from them. Perhaps, if possible, you will give them a call or write them a letter of thanks. Or perhaps you'll simply do something kind for someone else who cannot repay you, and silently dedicate the gesture to s/he who touched your life in that same unconditional way. For inspiration, in this soulful short video Julio Olalla shares a story about a powerful encounter from his father's life in the 1930's that fundamentally shifted his understanding of gratitude.