Daily Meditation: Wednesday, August 22, 2007

It is interesting to observe what the words ‘give’ and …

08/22/2007

It is interesting to observe what the words ‘give’ and ‘take’ inspire in human beings. There is a story about an old miser who fell down a well. Hearing his cries, a neighbour approached and called to him: ‘You poor old thing, how did you happen to fall in this well? Give me your hand, and I’ll pull you out!’ But there was no sound more disagreeable to the miser’s ears than the word ‘give’, and he refused to budge. The neighbour, who knew him well, understood. ‘You don’t want to give me your hand? Fine, take mine.’ The miser grasped it at once. The same gesture had been made, but the word ‘take’ sounded much more agreeable to him. This miser who fell down a well is the picture of humanity as a whole, which only understands the word ‘take’! You will say that we must take in order to feed ourselves. Yes, to give and take are indispensable for life, but you have to know where, from whom, how and how much to take. You also have to know where, to whom, how and how much to give.