A millionaire created through giving!
There is an old historical Japanese tale about giving and it shows how we can receive the most extraordinary gifts when we're giving and appreciative of what we already have.
Here is the story.
A long time ago, there lived a penniless young farmer. Nothing that he did turned out to be profitable. He was completely impoverished without any money, without anyone to help and nothing to eat. One night, totally at his wit's end, he went to a shrine and sat near the altar and pleaded to Gods to show him what to do.
"I have always been honest and hardworking, but all my hard work never produced any reward for me. What am I doing wrong?"
He fell asleep besides the altar just after having asking his question. In the morning, as he was waking up, he saw one of the Gods in his dream surrounded by a blinding golden light. The God's voice echoed through his mind.
"When you wake up in the morning, cherish what you have in your hand and go on giving it to others liberally as you proceed," the God commanded.
The farmer woke up. He still had many questions jumping through his mind but he lifted himself up and tried to shake off the strangely vivid dream he just had. To his surprise, he saw a piece of straw in his hand. Maybe it was on his clothes after the long day of fieldwork.
He was about to throw the straw away, but remembered what God had told him. Once again he sat down. Then he looked curiously at the bit of straw.
He sat still for a long time thinking what this meant. He had no clue why a piece of straw can be of any value to him. Then he saw a wasp flying around. It eventually landed on the tip of the straw. He caught the wasp and tied it to the straw with a piece of thread from his clothes. Now with a piece of straw with a flying wasp at the end, off he went on the path.
He had only walked for a few minutes before he saw a little boy and his mother coming from the other direction. The boy was crying. As he said hello, the boy noticed the wasp moving on the straw that the farmer was holding. He stopped crying and asked for the straw. The farmer nearly declined but then he remembered about the God's message that he needed to treasure what he had but also remembered that he was to give it away to others. So, he offered the straw to the boy. The mother was very appreciative as now the boy stopped crying and began smiling. The mother offered the farmer three tangerines.
The farmer continued on. And as he walked, he began feeling a little hungry. He thought of eating the tangerines but he reminded himself it was about giving the gift to others, not to himself.
As he went over a steep hill, he saw a merchant sitting down on the ground by a tree. Next to him was a wooden box. The farmer said hello to the merchant. He seemed to be exhausted. The merchant saw the tangerines in the farmer's hand and asked if he minded giving him the tangerines. He said he was so thirsty.
The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.
The farmer walked again and continued on the same path. After a while he found a river from which he drank water. He felt recharged. He went forward with more energy and a feeling of ease.
He walked for some more time but did not come across anyone else. He felt that the silk might be that which would bring him something good. So he chose to go to a town in the vicinity and trade the fabric.
But just as he went around the corner, he saw in front of him a band of fighters. One of the fighters who looked liked the head of the band stood near a horse that was lying on the earth. The farmer heard the leader talking to his men.
"It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me." With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people's sight.
The remaining soldiers were left discussing what to do about it. They were reluctant to kill the animal but they did not have much of a choice. At last one of them took out a sword.
The farmer quickly ran over to them and asked them to stop. He said he would like to look after the horse. He also offered the silk fabric to the warriors. They jumped at the offer and took off very quickly.
Now the farmer stood there with a dying horse. He thought he might have made a mistake that after all he was not meant to be wealthy. Then he remembered something. There was the stream he'd just passed.
He made his way to the river and once there stripped off his shirt and dipped it in water to be able to feed the horse. He made his way back to the horse again and fed it by squeezing out the water into its mouth. After the water trickled in for a while, the horse reacted and soon became conscious. The farmer was then able to pull it up and make it stand.
Once the horse could stand, the farmer was able to take it to the river. The horse drank directly from the river and the farmer also led it to the patches of grass nearby. Very soon the animal was rejuvenated.
So now the farmer owned the horse! The man and the animal traveled together, and the farmer had to run as the horse led the way. They traveled together for miles. Finally, as the sun was setting, the horse came to a halt in front of a big house. The animal pushed the farmer towards the gate when he finally drew level with it.
When the farmer moved towards it, the gates opened and an old man came out of the house. The old man had dashed out of the house and he looked wan. He spotted the horse and the farmer, both just in front of the house.
The old man asked the farmer what he was doing. The farmer said he was looking for a place to stay the night. The old man said he was going to the town for an urgent matter. He asked the farmer if he minded looking after his house until he returned. He said he might not be able to come back for a little while.
As the old man seemed to be in a hurry, the farmer offered him the horse. The old man appreciated the generous offer and took off with the horse. As he was leaving, he said something peculiar to the farmer.
"If I am not back in three years, this house becomes yours."
As you possibly deduced, the old man did not come back.
So the farmer lived happily ever after in the old man's big house with kind-hearted neighbours around and a land rich in good crops. He always kept in mind the rule that he should give to others what he had.
I am grateful to you for reading this story. And how did you feel about it?
Maybe there is a key to something. When we can turn our 'getting game' into a 'giving game', our life often flows bringing more abundance. But it is not always easy to practice the old wisdom in our real life.
Given below are the remarkable factors that we can glean from the story:
* When we give the things that others want, they usually value it more than we value it while when we are trying to 'sell' something (because fundamentally, we want to get something from the deal), they compare the value with our asking price and try to pay less.
* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.
* When we are down and out with the problems of life, instead of worrying about the negativities if we kept focus more on giving others and caring for them, life would surely bring glad tidings later.
* When we try to 'cash in' what we have built up, thinking that "this is the best it gets", because we think we may lose out it if we do not cash in now, our life's growth often ends there. What if instead, we continued to be giving generously no matter what we owned or how physically wealthy we were or were not.
Giving is part of many successful people's lives. When we give first, we have more chance of living a life of magnificence, ease and expansion. - 30224
There is an old historical Japanese tale about giving and it shows how we can receive the most extraordinary gifts when we're giving and appreciative of what we already have.
Here is the story.
A long time ago, there lived a penniless young farmer. Nothing that he did turned out to be profitable. He was completely impoverished without any money, without anyone to help and nothing to eat. One night, totally at his wit's end, he went to a shrine and sat near the altar and pleaded to Gods to show him what to do.
"I have always been honest and hardworking, but all my hard work never produced any reward for me. What am I doing wrong?"
He fell asleep besides the altar just after having asking his question. In the morning, as he was waking up, he saw one of the Gods in his dream surrounded by a blinding golden light. The God's voice echoed through his mind.
"When you wake up in the morning, cherish what you have in your hand and go on giving it to others liberally as you proceed," the God commanded.
The farmer woke up. He still had many questions jumping through his mind but he lifted himself up and tried to shake off the strangely vivid dream he just had. To his surprise, he saw a piece of straw in his hand. Maybe it was on his clothes after the long day of fieldwork.
He was about to throw the straw away, but remembered what God had told him. Once again he sat down. Then he looked curiously at the bit of straw.
He sat still for a long time thinking what this meant. He had no clue why a piece of straw can be of any value to him. Then he saw a wasp flying around. It eventually landed on the tip of the straw. He caught the wasp and tied it to the straw with a piece of thread from his clothes. Now with a piece of straw with a flying wasp at the end, off he went on the path.
He had only walked for a few minutes before he saw a little boy and his mother coming from the other direction. The boy was crying. As he said hello, the boy noticed the wasp moving on the straw that the farmer was holding. He stopped crying and asked for the straw. The farmer nearly declined but then he remembered about the God's message that he needed to treasure what he had but also remembered that he was to give it away to others. So, he offered the straw to the boy. The mother was very appreciative as now the boy stopped crying and began smiling. The mother offered the farmer three tangerines.
The farmer continued on. And as he walked, he began feeling a little hungry. He thought of eating the tangerines but he reminded himself it was about giving the gift to others, not to himself.
As he went over a steep hill, he saw a merchant sitting down on the ground by a tree. Next to him was a wooden box. The farmer said hello to the merchant. He seemed to be exhausted. The merchant saw the tangerines in the farmer's hand and asked if he minded giving him the tangerines. He said he was so thirsty.
The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.
The farmer walked again and continued on the same path. After a while he found a river from which he drank water. He felt recharged. He went forward with more energy and a feeling of ease.
He walked for some more time but did not come across anyone else. He felt that the silk might be that which would bring him something good. So he chose to go to a town in the vicinity and trade the fabric.
But just as he went around the corner, he saw in front of him a band of fighters. One of the fighters who looked liked the head of the band stood near a horse that was lying on the earth. The farmer heard the leader talking to his men.
"It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me." With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people's sight.
The remaining soldiers were left discussing what to do about it. They were reluctant to kill the animal but they did not have much of a choice. At last one of them took out a sword.
The farmer quickly ran over to them and asked them to stop. He said he would like to look after the horse. He also offered the silk fabric to the warriors. They jumped at the offer and took off very quickly.
Now the farmer stood there with a dying horse. He thought he might have made a mistake that after all he was not meant to be wealthy. Then he remembered something. There was the stream he'd just passed.
He made his way to the river and once there stripped off his shirt and dipped it in water to be able to feed the horse. He made his way back to the horse again and fed it by squeezing out the water into its mouth. After the water trickled in for a while, the horse reacted and soon became conscious. The farmer was then able to pull it up and make it stand.
Once the horse could stand, the farmer was able to take it to the river. The horse drank directly from the river and the farmer also led it to the patches of grass nearby. Very soon the animal was rejuvenated.
So now the farmer owned the horse! The man and the animal traveled together, and the farmer had to run as the horse led the way. They traveled together for miles. Finally, as the sun was setting, the horse came to a halt in front of a big house. The animal pushed the farmer towards the gate when he finally drew level with it.
When the farmer moved towards it, the gates opened and an old man came out of the house. The old man had dashed out of the house and he looked wan. He spotted the horse and the farmer, both just in front of the house.
The old man asked the farmer what he was doing. The farmer said he was looking for a place to stay the night. The old man said he was going to the town for an urgent matter. He asked the farmer if he minded looking after his house until he returned. He said he might not be able to come back for a little while.
As the old man seemed to be in a hurry, the farmer offered him the horse. The old man appreciated the generous offer and took off with the horse. As he was leaving, he said something peculiar to the farmer.
"If I am not back in three years, this house becomes yours."
As you possibly deduced, the old man did not come back.
So the farmer lived happily ever after in the old man's big house with kind-hearted neighbours around and a land rich in good crops. He always kept in mind the rule that he should give to others what he had.
I am grateful to you for reading this story. And how did you feel about it?
Maybe there is a key to something. When we can turn our 'getting game' into a 'giving game', our life often flows bringing more abundance. But it is not always easy to practice the old wisdom in our real life.
Given below are the remarkable factors that we can glean from the story:
* When we give the things that others want, they usually value it more than we value it while when we are trying to 'sell' something (because fundamentally, we want to get something from the deal), they compare the value with our asking price and try to pay less.
* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.
* When we are down and out with the problems of life, instead of worrying about the negativities if we kept focus more on giving others and caring for them, life would surely bring glad tidings later.
* When we try to 'cash in' what we have built up, thinking that "this is the best it gets", because we think we may lose out it if we do not cash in now, our life's growth often ends there. What if instead, we continued to be giving generously no matter what we owned or how physically wealthy we were or were not.
Giving is part of many successful people's lives. When we give first, we have more chance of living a life of magnificence, ease and expansion. - 30224
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