JOY OF GIVING

An ancient tale tells the story of woman who while wandering in the mountains, found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met a hungry traveler and when she opened her bag to share her food, he saw the precious stone. Instinctively, he asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing since he knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.

However, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."

Surely there is no greater personal asset than the joy that comes of giving. We may share sometimes some of our resources or some of our money. But we need to be better at giving. Like the women in the story, we must have the courage to share the most valuable – time, skills, knowledge and most importantly opportunity. It is all about letting go of our self-absorbed and self-seeking attitude that turns us away from the joy of giving…

Also, so many of us ‘give’ only after we ‘grab’. A plunderer’s charity has no meaning. The joy of giving must comes out of a clear choice to redeem ourselves in a world of inequity and imbalance. When we look in the mirror in the morning, we should be looking at a citizen who is responsible and responsive – some who is part of the solution, not part of the problem… someone who does not grab, but who indulges in the joy of giving.

To BE BETTER at the joy of giving…
We must let go of self-centred living!

- Pravin K. Sabnis