A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But 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 the 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 the stone.”
What do we have to give, those of us who don’t have a precious stone in our bag? Is it enough if we give what we can? And if we do have that stone and someone asks for it, are we open enough to give it up? How many people would give up their security for a stranger? Not many. How many would give up something of value to us to help a stranger?
We are all travelers on our own paths. We are all hungry and looking for precious stones. But what is most important is what is within us, and what we are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to give what you can, when you can.
2 Responses
That was a marvelous story with a real moral. It has been my observation that those with the least are the most willing to give what they can.
Sometimes they are more willing, Darlene. Sometimes you just notice it more, since you know it is so much more of what they have. I think those who hoard wealth are also more noticable to us, since we don’t ask as much of those we know don’t have much to give.
In general, the more you give away, the more you get. It seems to be how the universe works. ;^)