Find Out What You Are Really Worth
Sharing takes many shapes and S forms, from the ostentatious to the anonymous or silent, each with its own motivations. A few of them can touch and inspire us. A story that stays with me is one about the poet Pablo Neruda. When he was still a little boy, Neruda discovered a hole in a fence board while playing in the yard behind his house. He looked through the hole and saw a bit of land much like that behind their own house, uncared for, wild. He says of what happened next: "I moved back a few steps, because i sensed vaguely that something was about to happen, All of a sudden a hand appeared-a tiny hand of a boy about my own age. By the time i came close again, the hand was gone, and in its place there was a marvellous white toy sheep." Now this toy sheep's wool was faded, its wheels had fallen off. To Neruda, "All of this only made it more authentic. I had never seen such a wonderful sheep." He looked again through the hole but the boy had left him this 'gift' and disappeared. So young Pablo went to his house and brought out a little 'treasure' of his own -a perfect pine cone which he adored. He set it down by the hole in the fence for the unknown boy. "Iever saw either the hand orther boy again. And I have never seen a sheep like that either. The toy i lost finally in a fire." But, as Neruda, who has commented on this incident several times, reminds us: "This exchange of gifts... settled deep inside me like a sedimentary deposit...I have been a lucky man. To feel the intimacy of brothers is a marvellous thing in life. To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. But to feel the affection that come from those whom we do not know, from those unknown to us, who are watching over our sleep and solitude, over our dangers and our weaknesses-that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our being, and unites all living things." Wealth, among American Indian people, narrated, in a book called 'The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge Sources of Life', is not seen as the accumulation and keeping of money or goods or land. For most Native American cultures, it tells us, to be wealthy meant that one had lived well-carefully, with knowledge which had enabled the individual to hunt well, sew well, bring up children well, and if necessary, to fight well, depending on one's responsibilities. It had a line i saved in my the speaking tree notebook that was a precious teaching: To be wealthy meant that one had much good; enough to give away feel one has "Enough good to getaways"-what a beautiful contrThen there is a lovely story athephilanthropic Moses Montesano outstanding figure of the 19tcentury in Britain. Someone or asked him, "Sir, what are you w He reflected for a while, and named a figure. "But surely,” HI questioner demanded, "your w mustbemuch more than that.” smile, Moses replied, "You dime how much i own. You asked how much i am worth. So i calcuhowmuch i have given to charities’ year. You see," he said, "we worth what we are willing to switch others."
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Marguerite Theophil and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Marguerite Theophil and Speaking Tree,Times of India
Find Out What You Are Really Worth
Sharing takes many shapes and S forms, from the ostentatious to the anonymous or silent, each with its own motivations. A few of them can touch and inspire us. A story that stays with me is one about the poet Pablo Neruda. When he was still a little boy, Neruda discovered a hole in a fence board while playing in the yard behind his house. He looked through the hole and saw a bit of land much like that behind their own house, uncared for, wild. He says of what happened next: "I moved back a few steps, because i sensed vaguely that something was about to happen, All of a sudden a hand appeared-a tiny hand of a boy about my own age. By the time i came close again, the hand was gone, and in its place there was a marvellous white toy sheep." Now this toy sheep's wool was faded, its wheels had fallen off. To Neruda, "All of this only made it more authentic. I had never seen such a wonderful sheep." He looked again through the hole but the boy had left him this 'gift' and disappeared. So young Pablo went to his house and brought out a little 'treasure' of his own -a perfect pine cone which he adored. He set it down by the hole in the fence for the unknown boy. "Iever saw either the hand orther boy again. And I have never seen a sheep like that either. The toy i lost finally in a fire." But, as Neruda, who has commented on this incident several times, reminds us: "This exchange of gifts... settled deep inside me like a sedimentary deposit...I have been a lucky man. To feel the intimacy of brothers is a marvellous thing in life. To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. But to feel the affection that come from those whom we do not know, from those unknown to us, who are watching over our sleep and solitude, over our dangers and our weaknesses-that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our being, and unites all living things." Wealth, among American Indian people, narrated, in a book called 'The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge Sources of Life', is not seen as the accumulation and keeping of money or goods or land. For most Native American cultures, it tells us, to be wealthy meant that one had lived well-carefully, with knowledge which had enabled the individual to hunt well, sew well, bring up children well, and if necessary, to fight well, depending on one's responsibilities. It had a line i saved in my the speaking tree notebook that was a precious teaching: To be wealthy meant that one had much good; enough to give away feel one has "Enough good to getaways"-what a beautiful contrThen there is a lovely story athephilanthropic Moses Montesano outstanding figure of the 19tcentury in Britain. Someone or asked him, "Sir, what are you w He reflected for a while, and named a figure. "But surely,” HI questioner demanded, "your w mustbemuch more than that.” smile, Moses replied, "You dime how much i own. You asked how much i am worth. So i calcuhowmuch i have given to charities’ year. You see," he said, "we worth what we are willing to switch others."
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Marguerite Theophil and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Marguerite Theophil and Speaking Tree,Times of India