giving
In a land far away, once upon a time there was great poverty: only the rich could manage without great problems. Three of those rich men, and their servants, were traveling on the same road, in a convoy, when they came to a very poor village. Seeing this poverty provoked different reactions in all three rich men.
The first couldn’t stand to see it, so he took all the gold and jewels from his wagons and shared them out among the villagers. He wished them all the best of luck, and he left.
The second rich man, seeing the desperate situation, stopped for a short time, and gave the villagers all his food and drink, since he could see that money would be of little use to them. He made sure that each villager received their fair share and would have enough food to last for some time. Then, he left.
The third rich man, on seeing such poverty, speeded up and traveled straight through the village without stopping. The two other rich men saw this from a distance, and commented with each other how the third rich man lacked decency and compassion. It was good that they had been there to help the poor villagers…
However, three days later, they met the third rich man who was traveling in the opposite direction. He was still traveling quickly, but his wagons, instead of the gold and valuables they had been carrying, were now full of farming implements, tools, and sacks of seeds and grain. He was heading to the poor village to help them out of poverty.
This happened a long, long time ago, but we can see the very same thing happening today too. There are some generous people who give only so that people can see how much they are giving. They don’t want to know anything about the people they are giving to.
Other generous people really try to help others, but only so that they can feel better about themselves.
But there are other generous people: the best kind. To them it doesn’t matter what the other kinds of generous people think of them. Nor do they give in a showy way. Instead, they truly worry about how best to improve the lives of those they are helping. They give greatly of something much more valuable than money. They give their time, their vision and their lives.
We still have time to change to this third, and best, group!
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have a memorable day
Another wonderful story! I once heard it said that when one advertises her generosity, she has her reward. It all comes down to the degree to which one values what other people think more than what is true and sacred from one’s inner being. Thanks, Zendictive. Your stories are my new addiction!
erranttranscendentalist - April 11, 2012 at 6:47 am |
Such a great point! I know I could do more…
susielindau - April 11, 2012 at 9:15 am |
TO DO THE BEST EVERY DAY ART …….
AWESOME XXCAT
Cat Forsley - April 11, 2012 at 11:42 am |
yes we all need to take a good luck at what we are doing! xx
I love your blog Art always a smile, a question or a wake up call! Thanksxx
willowdot21 - April 11, 2012 at 3:22 pm |
Great point and story… I’m finally catching up but will have to come back and comment later on other posts. Thanks for your patience!
eof737 - April 12, 2012 at 12:21 am |
Good story! Reminds me of the one- do you give hungry person a fish or fishing rod and teach him how to fish… Thanks for your inspirational daily stories!!!
vytautas ambrazas - April 12, 2012 at 11:32 am |
…and it also sounds like they are being taught to sustain themselves with the tools.
Fergiemoto - April 13, 2012 at 11:06 am |
Giving our time, our talent and our lives to truly make a difference for others–let us continue joining with each other and helping each other to do so in this hungry, thirsting land.
granbee - April 13, 2012 at 3:38 pm |