Believe: It's the Small Things that Count As Well!

I have always believed that the true nature of mankind is beautiful. It was only later on when I begun my spiritual discovery that I realised Buddha supported this by describing mankind's innate nature as "enlightened" (because "Buddha" means "the enlightened one").

One of the most exciting things about life is watching Life roll out and confirming my beliefs. I especially love it when this belief is confirmed. One of those stories I will share with you.

On Friday last week, 22 March 2013, after work, I stopped at a traffic light and noticed that there were two "beggars", one was covered with a blanket, holding a cup, and walking from car to car asking for help. The other one was sitting beside one of the traffic lights.

Normally, I give people food, whether it is my packed lunch for the day or whether it is leftovers. This time, the only items I had in my lunch box were two "Fresh Fruit Cups" of sliced mango pieces.

I opened my window and, without explicitly saying anything, I gave the man both cups of fruit, smiled, and respectfully honoured his gratification. He wished me a safe drive and walked away with a smile on his face. He was heading towards the other beggar sitting by the traffic light.

The man to whom I had given the fruit cups gave one of the fruit cups to the other man and the two of them sat together, spoke, and enjoyed their fruit.

That man could have taken both fruit cups for himself, especially given that we cannot assume for how long this person has gone without eating. I did not specifically say that he must give the other cup to his companion. I merely gave it to him and left this choice in his hands, hoping to see yet another confirmation of the beautiful innate human nature of mankind. I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed.

Then again, this evening I read an article on The Independent  sent to me by a close friend of mine. It was a story of a beggar who haply and erroneously received a woman's engagement ring as a donation into his cup when he was asking for help in Kansas City, USA. This man decided he was going to keep the ring in case he came across her again so that he could return the ring. He first went to have the ring valued at a jeweller and ascertained its value to be $4,000. Later on, when the ring was returned, the owner set up an online foundation in order to grow the $4,000 that this man could have made had he sold the ring to the jeweller. What transpired was even more heart-warming. The foundation ended up making $185,000 for this man for the good deed he had done.

Believe!