MY SPOON MAY BE TOO SMALL

 


"we only have what we give.”

Isabel Allende

 

None of us is rich enough to eradicate the poverty in this world. The biggest Foundations and Charities in this world have been able to do only so much… Poverty, hunger, deprivation still run rampantly.

Now, the Poverty shows up in differs avatars. There is poverty of mind, heart and soul, too. Lack of love is poverty… Loneliness is poverty… Lack of self-confidence is poverty… Distrust and envy are forms of poverty… Poor physical health is poverty. And, yes, lack of money – hunger and homelessness - is poverty.

I have hardly done any financial charity. A few rupees which I may have given, now and then, are like casting  drops of water in a vast ocean. Putting it inversely, it’s like trying to empty the ocean – the ocean of poverty – with a teaspoon!

It can be overwhelming!

But, each one of us has been blessed with our own special wealth. We may be poor in terms of money; but, we may be wealthy in terms of other forms of wealth. So, it’s possible for all of us do reach out to the needy… Do our bit. Not doing anything at all for anyone is the poverty of the spirit.

“No one has become poor by giving,” wrote Anne Frank in her diary. This statement is very profound. If we think, that by giving what we have we become poor, we suffer from the poverty of the spirit. For, as Isabel Allende says, “We only have what we give.”

Let’s read that again: “We only have what we give!”

You and I may not be financially rich like a Bill Gates, a Warren Buffet or an Azim Premji. We need not be to ‘give’, to ‘help’. As I said, Poverty shows up in different forms. I have become conscious of my own wealth – being able to teach and write. So, every time I send out a small post, or teach a needy student, what I am really doing is – ‘giving’… trying to eradicate the poverty of mind, heart and spirit. I am aware of the fact, that the ocean is vast and my spoon is too small. But, then, is that not the only way to ‘give’… to do my bit?



Feeling of usefulness comes from our little acts of giving. True, ‘giving’ doesn’t come from what we have. It’s the other way around: We only have what we give!

Let’s reflect on it, again.

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.: pixabay

 

Video: Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet) itisnowforever

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...