| The Straw Giving Farmer - Becoming Rich |
| Written by Masami Sato | |
| Thursday, 24 September 2009 | |
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A millionaire made easy through giving!
A millionaire made easy through giving! Given below is a mythological story from Japan about the beauty of giving to others and it tells us how we can receive the most perfect gifts when we're giving and grateful of what we own. This is the folk tale. Once upon a time, there was a poor young farmer. Everything he did in his life never seemed to produce any wealth for him. He was totally broke with no money, no family and no food. So one night he sneaked into a temple and sat by the altar and in desperation asked the Gods what he was supposed 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 was brimming with questions when he woke up but he tried to shake off his sleep and clear his mind of the strange but clear dream he had. However, he saw a bit of a straw in his hand. It must have remained on his clothes while he worked in his fields. He nearly dropped it to the ground, but stopped for a moment remembering what the God said. He sat down again. And looked at the straw. He sat for a while unable to comprehend what all that meant. He did not know how a piece of straw can turn out to be useful. Then he saw a wasp hovering around. After a while the wasp settled on one end of his straw. He caught it and with the help of a thread from his clothes, tied it to the straw. And with a wasp at the end of his straw, he went on his way. 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 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 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. "This horse would not last long. We just have to leave it. Just take care of it and catch up." He jumped up on another horse and galloped off disappearing out of sight. The fighters who remained there conferred among themselves as to what to do. They had no interest in putting it to death but there was no other option. Finally one of them drew the sword. The farmer ran to them and requested them to refrain from killing it. He opted to care for the animal. In return for that he gave them the bolt of silk he had. They were happy of the offer and went away fast. 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 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 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. The farmer now had a companion. They journeyed together, the horse in front, and the farmer panting behind to keep up with it. They traveled for miles in that manner. At last, as the sun was about to set, the animal came to a stop just in front of a rather big house. When the farmer drew alongside, the horse pushed him in the direction of the gate with its snout. As the farmer made his way to the gate, all of a sudden the gate opened and an old man was standing there. The man looked drawn and he was hastening out onto the road. The old man took notice of the farmer as well as the animal standing nearby. The man queried the farmer what he wanted. The farmer replied that he was in need of a place to retire for the night. The old man in his turn said that he had to go to the town on an important matter and requested the farmer to be in charge of the house till such time that he returned. He said that his returning might get delayed. 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 do not come back in three years' time, this house belongs to you." As you probably guessed, the old man never returned. 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? Perhaps there is a secret to things. When we can turn the business of getting into the business of giving, our life gushes forward with greater plentitude. Still it might not be easy to incorporate into practical life this age old wisdom. 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 there is no lasting attachment to the things we own, we will see that we have wider chances since we are able to free ourselves from what we have. * 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 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 part of many successful people's lives. When we give first, we have more chance of living a life of magnificence, ease and expansion. The Article Author: Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. |
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