Inspiring Story
It was a really hot summer’s day many years ago. I was on my way to pick up two items at the grocery store. In those days, I was a frequent visitor to the supermarket because there never seemed to be enough money for a whole week’s food-shopping at once.
You see, my young wife, after a tragic battle with cancer, had died just a few months earlier. There was no insurance -- just many expenses and a mountain of bills. I held a part-time job, which barely generated enough money to feed my two young children.
Things were bad -- really bad.
And so it was that day, with a heavy heart and four dollars in my pocket, I was on my way to the supermarket to purchase a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. The children were hungry and I had to get them something to eat. As I came to a red traffic light, I noticed on my right a young man, a young woman and a child on the grass next to the road. The blistering noonday sun beat down on them without mercy.
The man held up a cardboard sign which read, "Will Work for Food." The woman stood next to him. She just stared at the cars stopped at the red light. The child, probably about two years old, sat on the grass holding a one-armed doll. I noticed all this in the thirty seconds it took for the traffic light to change to green.
I wanted so desperately to give them a few dollars, but if I did that, there wouldn’t be enough left to buy the milk and bread. Four dollars will only go so far. As the light changed, I took one last glance at the three of them and sped off feeling both guilty (for not helping them) and sad (because I didn’t have enough money to share with them).
As I kept driving, I couldn’t get the picture of the three of them out of my mind. The sad, haunting eyes of the young man and his family stayed with me for about a mile. I could take it no longer. I felt their pain and had to do something about it. I turned around and drove back to where I had last seen them.
I pulled up close to them and handed the man two of my four dollars. There were tears in his eyes as he thanked me. I smiled and drove on to the supermarket. Perhaps both milk and bread would be on sale, I thought. And what if I only got milk alone, or just the bread? Well, it would have to do.
I pulled into the parking lot, still thinking about the whole incident,yet feeling good about what I had done. As I stepped out of the car, my foot slid on something on the pavement. There by my feet was a twenty-dollar bill. I just couldn’t believe it. I looked all around, picked it up with awe, went into the store and purchased not only bread and milk, but several other items I desperately needed.
I never forgot that incident. It reminded me that the universe was strange and mysterious. It confirmed my belief that you could never out give the universe. I gave away two dollars and got twenty in return. On my way back from the supermarket, I drove by the hungry family and shared five additional dollars with them.
This incident is only one of many that have occurred in my life. It seems that the more we give, the more we get. It is, perhaps, one of those universal laws that say, "If you want to receive, you must first give."
There is a little rhyme that goes like this:
"A man there was, and they called him mad,
The more he gave, the more he had."
Most times, we think that we don’t have anything to give. Yet, if we look more closely, we ’ll see that even the little we have could be shared with others. Let us not wait for a time when we think we’ll have lots and then we’ll give. By giving and sharing the little we have, we open up the storehouse of the universe and permit rivers of good to come our way.
Don’t take my word for it. Just honestly try to give and you’ll be surprised at the results. Generally, the returns do not come back from those we give to. It comes back from sources we could hardly imagine. So give your way to riches.
Take a chance on this universal principle. Take a chance on yourself. Universal principles always work.
Sometimes the return from giving happens very quickly as in the true story above. Other times, it takes much longer. But be assured of this: Give and you will receive - and you’ll receive lots more than you ever gave.
And when you give, don’t do it with a heart of fear, but with a heart full of gratitude. You will be amazed at how it all works out.
Open the gates of affluence in your life by giving a bit of what you have to those in need. As the great Teacher said, Give and it will be given unto you in good measure, pressed down shaken together and runneth over will men give unto your bosom....Luke 6:38
Try it. You’ll like it.
From India, Coimbatore
733It was a really hot summer’s day many years ago. I was on my way to pick up two items at the grocery store. In those days, I was a frequent visitor to the supermarket because there never seemed to be enough money for a whole week’s food-shopping at once.
You see, my young wife, after a tragic battle with cancer, had died just a few months earlier. There was no insurance -- just many expenses and a mountain of bills. I held a part-time job, which barely generated enough money to feed my two young children.
Things were bad -- really bad.
And so it was that day, with a heavy heart and four dollars in my pocket, I was on my way to the supermarket to purchase a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. The children were hungry and I had to get them something to eat. As I came to a red traffic light, I noticed on my right a young man, a young woman and a child on the grass next to the road. The blistering noonday sun beat down on them without mercy.
The man held up a cardboard sign which read, "Will Work for Food." The woman stood next to him. She just stared at the cars stopped at the red light. The child, probably about two years old, sat on the grass holding a one-armed doll. I noticed all this in the thirty seconds it took for the traffic light to change to green.
I wanted so desperately to give them a few dollars, but if I did that, there wouldn’t be enough left to buy the milk and bread. Four dollars will only go so far. As the light changed, I took one last glance at the three of them and sped off feeling both guilty (for not helping them) and sad (because I didn’t have enough money to share with them).
As I kept driving, I couldn’t get the picture of the three of them out of my mind. The sad, haunting eyes of the young man and his family stayed with me for about a mile. I could take it no longer. I felt their pain and had to do something about it. I turned around and drove back to where I had last seen them.
I pulled up close to them and handed the man two of my four dollars. There were tears in his eyes as he thanked me. I smiled and drove on to the supermarket. Perhaps both milk and bread would be on sale, I thought. And what if I only got milk alone, or just the bread? Well, it would have to do.
I pulled into the parking lot, still thinking about the whole incident,yet feeling good about what I had done. As I stepped out of the car, my foot slid on something on the pavement. There by my feet was a twenty-dollar bill. I just couldn’t believe it. I looked all around, picked it up with awe, went into the store and purchased not only bread and milk, but several other items I desperately needed.
I never forgot that incident. It reminded me that the universe was strange and mysterious. It confirmed my belief that you could never out give the universe. I gave away two dollars and got twenty in return. On my way back from the supermarket, I drove by the hungry family and shared five additional dollars with them.
This incident is only one of many that have occurred in my life. It seems that the more we give, the more we get. It is, perhaps, one of those universal laws that say, "If you want to receive, you must first give."
There is a little rhyme that goes like this:
"A man there was, and they called him mad,
The more he gave, the more he had."
Most times, we think that we don’t have anything to give. Yet, if we look more closely, we ’ll see that even the little we have could be shared with others. Let us not wait for a time when we think we’ll have lots and then we’ll give. By giving and sharing the little we have, we open up the storehouse of the universe and permit rivers of good to come our way.
Don’t take my word for it. Just honestly try to give and you’ll be surprised at the results. Generally, the returns do not come back from those we give to. It comes back from sources we could hardly imagine. So give your way to riches.
Take a chance on this universal principle. Take a chance on yourself. Universal principles always work.
Sometimes the return from giving happens very quickly as in the true story above. Other times, it takes much longer. But be assured of this: Give and you will receive - and you’ll receive lots more than you ever gave.
And when you give, don’t do it with a heart of fear, but with a heart full of gratitude. You will be amazed at how it all works out.
Open the gates of affluence in your life by giving a bit of what you have to those in need. As the great Teacher said, Give and it will be given unto you in good measure, pressed down shaken together and runneth over will men give unto your bosom....Luke 6:38
Try it. You’ll like it.
From India, Coimbatore
The Art of Giving
"Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do trees eat their own fruit, nor do
rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used
solely for the benefit of others?
Even after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to give,
several questions need to be answered.
1. When should one give?
We all know the famous incident from Mahabharat. Yudhisthir, asks a beggar
seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices, that Yudhisthir his
brother, has conquered death! For he is sure that he will be around tomorrow to
give. Yudhisthir gets the message.
One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give!
The time to give therefore is now.
2. How much to give?
One recalls the famous incident from history. Rana Pratap was reeling after
defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his wealth, and most
important he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that time in his darkest hour,
his erstwhile minister Bhamasha came seeking him and placed his entire fortune
at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived
to fight another day.
The answer to this question how much to give is "Give as much as you can!
3. What to give?
It is not only money that can be given. It could be a flower or even a smile.
It is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters. When you
give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing received by him in
days and weeks!
"You can give anything but you must give with your heart!
4. Whom to give?
Many times we avoid giving by finding fault with the person who is seeking.
However, being judgemental and rejecting a person on the presumption that he may
not be the most deserving is not justified. “Give without being judgemental !
5. How to give?
Coming to the manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not
feel humiliated, nor the giver feels proud by giving.
In giving follow the Bible, ‘Let not your left hand know what your right hand
gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare is the highest form of charity.
'Give quietly!
While giving let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all what we
give never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and will go
with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary period. Why then
take pride in giving away something which really did not belong to us? Give with
grace and with a feeling of gratitude.
6. What should one feel after giving?
We all know the story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb
as "Guru Dakshina? he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to
Dronacharya.
There is a little known sequel to this story. Eklavya was asked whether he ever
regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the reply has to be
believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was dying.
His reply was "Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas
were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken hearted on the false news of
death of his son Ashwathama and had stopped fighting. It was then that I
regretted the loss of my thumb. If the thumb was there, no one could have dared
hurt my Guru?
The message to us is clear.
Give and never regret giving!
7. How much should we provide for our heirs?
Ask yourself 'are we taking away from them the “gift of work? - A source of
happiness! The answer is given by Warren Buffett:
"Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing!
I would conclude by saying: let us learn the Art of Giving, and quoting Sant
Kabir: "When the wealth in the house increases, When water fills a boat, Start
Giving with both hands !
This is the wise thing to do!
"A hand that helps is better than the lips that PRAY."
Sharing What is Shared with ME.
Regards.
Deepak Bhamburkar
From India, Pune
"Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do trees eat their own fruit, nor do
rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used
solely for the benefit of others?
Even after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to give,
several questions need to be answered.
1. When should one give?
We all know the famous incident from Mahabharat. Yudhisthir, asks a beggar
seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices, that Yudhisthir his
brother, has conquered death! For he is sure that he will be around tomorrow to
give. Yudhisthir gets the message.
One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give!
The time to give therefore is now.
2. How much to give?
One recalls the famous incident from history. Rana Pratap was reeling after
defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his wealth, and most
important he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that time in his darkest hour,
his erstwhile minister Bhamasha came seeking him and placed his entire fortune
at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived
to fight another day.
The answer to this question how much to give is "Give as much as you can!
3. What to give?
It is not only money that can be given. It could be a flower or even a smile.
It is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters. When you
give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing received by him in
days and weeks!
"You can give anything but you must give with your heart!
4. Whom to give?
Many times we avoid giving by finding fault with the person who is seeking.
However, being judgemental and rejecting a person on the presumption that he may
not be the most deserving is not justified. “Give without being judgemental !
5. How to give?
Coming to the manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not
feel humiliated, nor the giver feels proud by giving.
In giving follow the Bible, ‘Let not your left hand know what your right hand
gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare is the highest form of charity.
'Give quietly!
While giving let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all what we
give never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and will go
with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary period. Why then
take pride in giving away something which really did not belong to us? Give with
grace and with a feeling of gratitude.
6. What should one feel after giving?
We all know the story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb
as "Guru Dakshina? he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to
Dronacharya.
There is a little known sequel to this story. Eklavya was asked whether he ever
regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the reply has to be
believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was dying.
His reply was "Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas
were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken hearted on the false news of
death of his son Ashwathama and had stopped fighting. It was then that I
regretted the loss of my thumb. If the thumb was there, no one could have dared
hurt my Guru?
The message to us is clear.
Give and never regret giving!
7. How much should we provide for our heirs?
Ask yourself 'are we taking away from them the “gift of work? - A source of
happiness! The answer is given by Warren Buffett:
"Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing!
I would conclude by saying: let us learn the Art of Giving, and quoting Sant
Kabir: "When the wealth in the house increases, When water fills a boat, Start
Giving with both hands !
This is the wise thing to do!
"A hand that helps is better than the lips that PRAY."
Sharing What is Shared with ME.
Regards.
Deepak Bhamburkar
From India, Pune
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Excellent Inspiring Story.doc
Wisdom Pearls - short inspiring stories.pdf