A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious
stone in a
stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and
the wise
woman opened her bag to share her food.The hungry traveller saw the
precious
stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without
hesitation. The
traveller left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was
worth enough
to give him security for a lifetime.
But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise
woman. "I've
been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I
give it back
inthe hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give
me what you
have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."
Sometimes it's not the wealth you have but what's inside you that
others need.