AM I RICH ENOUGH TO SHARE?

 

“A bone to the dog is not charity.

Charity is the bone shared with the dog…

when you are  just as hungry as the dog.”

Jack London

 

The other day, I was telling three of my young nephews, how,  in my view, ‘sharing’ was one of the best ways to feel good about ourselves in life. I was telling them, that ‘feeling good about ourselves’, also, meant ‘feeling confident’ in life!

What, in my view, ‘sharing’ means? Is there something with all of us, that we can share with others? Do we need to ‘possess’ something first, in order to ‘share’ with others?

One of my nephews was of the firm belief, that we were able to share only when we possessed enough…

I agreed with him, before I could convey what I had in my mind.

Sharing – call it ‘Giving’ or ‘Charity’ or ‘Empowering’ or ‘Reaching out’ or ‘Touching lives’ whatever, whatever, whatever – comes from the intangible state of our hearts, rather than the tangible state of our possessions. From this paradigm, I think, we need to possess first that intangible state of our hearts. When we do, we are able to share… It is just natural… Our hearts just overflow, because there is so much in them…

We do not have to be wealthy to even to help someone financially. Sometime back, the family of one of our relatives was going through a very difficult time due to the prolonged illness of the head of the family. The family was in a dire need of monetary help and, as a last resort, made appeals to all of us individually as well as on our family groups. At that time, my own position was not stable. But, my heart wanted to do something immediately and sincerely. I, spontaneously, spoke about my dilemma with one of my very dear friends, who was better- placed financially. The next thing I knew was, a thank-you note from my relatives for the kind help I had made!

That’s how, my dear friend ‘shared’ without making any noise… Probably, that’s how a person like me – who may not possess excess money – can reach out financially…

All that we need is an attitude of giving, sharing, helping… A rich heart, I mean!

 

Last evening, when I was in my office, a young Maharashtrian girl, who worked as an accounts assistant – approached me, a bit nervously… “Sir, I am planning to write CET exams for MBA. Can you arrange to provide me with some material to study from?”

The girl seemed very sincere and coming from a financially-deprived family. At that point of time, I had no study material to offer her. But, I had many of my students who, I knew, had such material at home… All that I had to do was - make a few phone calls and act as a medium. But, would I do it, unless I possessed that desire – that heart – to help her… to empower her?

Once again, I, spontaneously, did one more thing: I pulled out from my book-shelf two of our books – ‘What Makes Me Confident’ and ‘My Achilles' Heel’ – and handed them to her, saying, “Please read these… This, too, is a ‘study material’ for your MBA preparation.”

I could see a sparkle on the young girl’s face as she received what I was giving… all unexpectedly!

And, what about me – how was my heart feeling? Good? Confident?

If we all wait till we become ‘rich enough’ to help others, we will never be able to help anyone at all… The finest giving happens, when we still are in need of what we are about to give…

Yes, as Jack London describes beautifully”

“A bone to the dog is not charity.

Charity is the bone shared with the dog…

when you are  just as hungry as the dog.”

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s: pixabay

Video: Kahlil Gibran/itisnowforever