A rich man born out of giving!
There is a Japanese folk tale about the power of giving and it exemplifies how we can get the most wonderful of gifts when we’re gifting things to others and are positive about what we have already got.
This is the folk tale.
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 slept at the feet of the deity after having put that question. In the morning, just as he woke up, one of the Gods of his dream appeared before him enveloped in a brilliant golden light. The voice of the God resounded in his mind.
“After you wake up in the morning, value that which you have in your hand and keep giving it fully to others as you move forward,” the God told him.
The farmer opened his eyes. There were many things that he wanted to ask but he managed to pull himself up and tried to remove the confusion of the strange dream. But there seemed to be a piece of straw in his hand. It must have remained stuck on his dress while he worked in his land.
He almost threw it away, but stopped short of doing it recollecting what God had said about it. He seated himself again and stared at the straw in his hand.
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 proceeded only a bit when he saw a woman and her child coming from the opposite direction. The child was crying. When he wished them, the boy saw the straw in the farmer’s hand with a wasp dangling at the end. The child was curious and asked the farmer if he could have it. He was about to refuse when he remembered how God had told him to cherish what he had and also at the same time to give to others what he had. So he offered the straw to the child. The mother became happy since the child stopped crying because of the gift. In return for the straw the lady gave the man three tangerines.
The man continued on his way. After a while he started feeling hungry and wanted to eat one of the tangerines. But he stopped short of doing it and remembered that he had to gift things to others, not give it 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 as thirsty as the trader as he had been walking for long on that hot day. Nevertheless, he offered the tangerines to the trader, who then ate all the three tangerines and felt recharged. He felt very happy about the help rendered to him and opened the wooden box that was by his side. Inside the box were rolls of silk that was dyed with hand. The merchant gifted the farmer one roll and proceeded on his way.
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 continued to walk for a long time but did not see anyone again. So he decided that the silk could be what would bring him luck. He felt he should go to the town nearby and try to sell the silk.
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 other warriors were left talking to each other about what to do. They did not want to kill the horse but there seemed to be no other choice. One of them finally drew his sword.
The farmer pleaded with them not to do that. He said he was ready to look after the animal. He said they can have the bolt of silk for letting him care for the horse. They agreed to the deal and left the place quickly.
The farmer stood there with the horse that was in its death throes. He felt he might have got it all wrong and that he was not destined to be wealthy. Then he thought of the river that he had come across on the way.
He immediately went back to the stream, took off his shirt and soaked it in the fresh water so he could give water to horse. He returned to the horse still lying there on the ground. The farmer squeezed the wet cloth over the horse’s mouth. Very soon the horse began to respond and regained its consciousness, so the farmer pulled it up with all his might.
Once the horse was up the farmer was able to lead it to the river. The animal drank to its satisfaction and there was also green grass nearby that it could feed on. With both that the horse became fully recharged.
Now the farmer had a horse! They set off again together, this time the man had to run to keep up. The horse was actually leading the way. They ran together for miles. As the sun starting to go down, the horse finally stopped in front of a large house. As the farmer caught up, the horse pushed him with his nose to the entrance of the house.
As the farmer approached the gate, the doors swung open and to his surprise, an old man appeared. The old man was rushing outside and was looking a little pale. He noticed the farmer and the horse standing by the gate.
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.
Since the old man appeared to be in a hurry, the farmer said that he can use the horse. The old man felt glad about the gesture and accepted the offer. He left with the horse but before he left told the farmer something strange.
“If I do not come back in three years’ time, this house belongs to you.”
As you perhaps inferred, the old man did not return.
The farmer stayed in the big house for the remainder of his life with a land that yielded a rich harvest and had friendly neighbours. And he always remembered to give away whatever he had.
Thank you for reading this story. And what do you think it is all about?
There is always a pattern to things. If the venture of getting can be converted into the venture of giving, our life would pour forth with greater profusion. But it may be a bit difficult to make this ancient wisdom a part of our lives.
Here are some of the interesting distinctions we can find in this story :
* When we are ready to give what others need, they will consider it more valuable than while we are trying to ‘trade’ it (as basically we are always hopeful of getting something out of that transaction), as then they only consider the price we ask for and tend to pay less.
* When we are not attached to the things we have, we often find that we attract better opportunities as we can let go of existing ones.
* When life seems to deal us a bad hand, instead of focusing on the problem if instead we focused on giving and caring, life seems to end up bringing better luck later.
* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that “this is the maximum it will bring”, as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.
Giving is intrinsic in the lives of many who have made it to the top. When giving is done first, we are better able to lead a life of grandeur, comfort and glory.
Discover more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.