KIND WORDS
Once You Give It Away…

"They All Contain Hope"
The author wishes to remain anonymous
Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum
Printed with Permission of http://www.PartnersInKindness.org

I was abroad from the UK taking a train journey through Italy throughout the night when I stopped at a change junction in Taranto at 6 o'clock one cold morning in February. I saw a young man in the waiting room who had a piece of cardboard wrapped around himself to keep warm. I was going into the cafeteria for a warm drink and noticed that this young lad had a bicycle and full panniers of kit attached. It seems he was also in unknown territory passing through.

I began a conversation with him, commenting upon our mutual interests in cycling. He cheerfully explained he was from Morocco and 19 years of age and was taking a three month cycling tour (alone) of Italy and Greece. I admired his courage and perseverance, particularly for his age, and gave him some money to buy some hot food and a drink. When he thanked me profusely, I realised that I was fortunate to be in a position where I could do an act of kindness for someone.

"Once You Give It Away…"
From: Kindness: Making a Difference in People's Lives: Formulas, stories, and insights
By Zelig Pliskin
Printed with Permission of Shaar Press

It has been said with regard to sharing what you have and know with others: Once you give it away, then it’s really yours, for you have the eternal merit of the kind act. The money you give to others is no longer material; it has been transformed into spirituality. The ancient alchemists wanted to turn simple metal into gold. That is what you are doing when you share your money with someone in need.

The vital knowledge you share with others truly belongs to you when you pass it on from the data bank in your brain to the brain of another human being. This knowledge will live on and on. He will transfer it to the brains of others and they will utilize that knowledge themselves and keep passing it on. Your merit keeps growing with the positive effects that mushroom endlessly.

A miser tries to hoard his money. But he is failing to utilize what he owns. If he were to realize how he is limiting his true wealth, he would hasten to find some worthy person, institution, or cause that would benefit from a portion of his fortune. The part that he gives away might seem to diminish the size of that fortune. In reality what he gives away remains his eternal possession and the true size of his fortune is calculated by what he gives and not by what he keeps. Some people use the expression, "He is worth ‘X’ amount of money." They usually refer to the money, investments, and property that someone has not yet given away. The expression would be more accurate if the calculations only included what one has donated to others.

It has been said that a person has more pleasure from one share of his own than from nine shares that come from someone else. The money you give, the possessions you lend, and the knowledge you share are what belong to you. This has infinitely more value than what you don’t give, lend, and share.

A person may overcome a phobia, a limitation, or a bad habit. That is a praiseworthy achievement. But a greater achievement is when that person shares his knowledge and experiences with others who have similar phobias, limitations, and habits. They are helped with his knowledge. They too can pass this on to others and more and more benefit from the original sharing. The value of the information that was given away expands and expands. If it were to have just remained in the first person’s brain cells it would have eventually disappeared without accomplishing a fraction of what it accomplished by being passed along.

When you have a dilemma: Should I share what I have with others or should I keep it for and to myself. Make the wise decision. Focus on the future outcome of each choice. Give, lend, and share with those who could benefit. And then what is truly yours is increased.

One of my students related the following story:

When I was a young child, I resented the idea of sharing my belongings with others. "My toys are mine," I would say. "If I let others use them, than I am losing out. If I share the candies that are mine with others, then I have less."

I retained this attitude as I grew older. I was often too embarrassed to refuse to give and share when I was asked to do so. But I would never volunteer, and I looked for ways and means to hold on to what was mine.

I read somewhere, "Only what you give to others is really yours." This struck a true chord within me. When I kept things, I didn’t feel a sense of loss, but I didn’t feel expansively wealthy either. I started enjoying giving to others. It was unbelievable how my sense of personal wealth grew as I gave.

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