Recently, I invested some money in an endeavor many people may have thought was a waste of my hard-earned money. I have to admit, I was not even expecting to recoup my initial investment and really only got involved because it felt like the right thing to do.

I know. I know. Financial advisors will tell you investing on a feeling is not a very smart thing to do. This situation was different, though, and did not fit into any typical investment strategy.

Fortunately, only one week later, I received the prospectus on my investment and the outlook is very positive.

How much did I invest, you ask? Five dollars.

How much is my five dollars worth now? It is impossible to determine.

You see, one night at work, a woman came into the store visibly shaken and worried. She explained she needed to get to the other side of town and was not sure if she had enough gas to get there. She then asked if she could borrow some money for gas. I gave her five dollars.

A week later, she came back to the store and, not recognizing me, asked if the person who gave her the money was working. I said I was the one who gave her the money, however she did not catch what I had said. She continued on to say how much she appreciated the person helping her out. At this point, I decided to keep my identity hidden. When she asked if she could give me the five dollars to give to the person who helped her, I just said I had talked to him about it and he said he did not want the money. He just wanted her to do something for someone else sometime. She was very appreciative and asked if I could give the guy a card. I told her I would, so she gave me the card and left.

I was going to open the card after work but I ended up leaving it on the counter. Back at work several days later, I opened the card and this is what was printed on it:

A simple act of kindness has a beauty all its own. Thank you.

She also added a hand-written note saying:

It’s not often someone is willing to lend a stranger money. And I thank you. My name is Dawn. You helped restore my faith in humanity!

I do not believe I have ever gotten, or will ever again get, a better return on any monetary investment.

I tell this story for several reasons, hopefully none of which are seen as patting myself on the back. First and foremost, I am trying to hold myself accountable to what I wrote in my Gospel According to You post; I want my actions to be a statement of my beliefs.

The second reason: although giving the woman the money did help her out, my act was also one of self-interest. I do not often give money directly to people claiming to be in need because I am not sure how the money will be spent or if giving the money will make their situations better, and not worse. I prefer to give money to organizations whose mission is to help those in need. Still, I do not want to become jaded and be so miserly with my money that I won’t take a chance on giving someone a few dollars.

Yes, the return on my five-dollar investment was excellent. Excellent in that it helped the woman get to where she needed to go and restored her faith in humanity.

Maybe more importantly, excellent in that it reminded me what humanity is.