Why I Stopped Waiting for Favors to Come Back

I used to keep a mental tally. Somebody helps you move a couch, you owe them one. You lend money, you're waiting — quietly, but you're waiting — for the day it comes back. Not always in the same form, but somehow, some way.
Then a few months back something happened that flipped this whole thing for me. I helped a friend out with something small, nothing major, didn't even think about it after. Weeks later I was in a tight spot and the same guy showed up without me even asking. Didn't expect it. That's when it hit me — the return doesn't always come from the same direction you sent it.
That's basically how reciprocation actually works, if you zoom out enough. It's not a straight line between two people. It's more like... you put something good out, and it comes back to you eventually, sometimes from someone you never even helped.
Since then I stopped keeping score. Not because I became some saint overnight, but honestly it's just less exhausting. Counting favors is tiring. You end up doing good things with strings attached, and that's not really doing good at all.
Anyway that's just something I've been thinking about lately. Curious if anyone else has had a similar moment where help came back from an unexpected place.