The joy of giving!

We all feel happy when we get something good. As kids, we all have grown up with the joy of getting, having and possessing. There is another type of joy that you get from giving. A mature joy that we get when we share, when we give, like the joy of grandmothers and grandfathers at home. When they share, they feel happy.

Last week my friend told me a story which he found in the web. The story goes like this:

A woman who was traveling alone in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, the 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 great 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 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.” The woman smiled, “The joy of giving!” 

The message within this story is so deep and pure. There are so many things we can all offer to those around us and believe it or not many of these things are free. If you feel like you don’t have any material possession to offer, give your time, your knowledge, your love and support to those are in need.

I cannot help but showing some interesting statistics: Say 80 years we live on this planet called Earth. Out of that, 40 years we spend sleeping, 10 years we spend in the bathroom, 10 years in eating and 15 years in working. We need to wake up and see how much time we are actually “awake”. What do we do all these time? Everyday billions of thoughts come into our brains and then they go. We hold on to some thoughts (If you hold on to all the thoughts you will be in the mental hospital for sure!).  

Holding on to your own thoughts and things will surely make you sick. The nature of joy is to share. When you are happy, enthusiastic, and energetic, you want to share. If you are happy you can’t say, 'I am happy, leave me alone'! Like wise men said, “all the gifts you carry with you are for others”. Giving makes your wake moments so meaningful. Giving makes you feel happy from within. Give a meal to someone who cannot afford one, tell a story to a small kid – their smiles will bring a lasting smile on your face.