According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.
After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart, as his teacher appreciated his gesture !
Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. The student spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container.
The student challenged his teacher and out of curiosity asked: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"
The teacher replied with a smiling face: "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter"!!!
We may understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a crushed paper painting or a clay figure, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea and affection within the gift. Gratitude doesn't always come naturally.Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart!! Also, when we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest of appreciation is not to utter mere words, but to live by them. The essence of all beautiful art, all great art is gratitude!
Gratitude is the sign of noble souls and the memory of it is stored in the heart and not the mind! The next time you receive any gifts from anyone, no matter however small it may be,remember the love behind and don't judge the gift with its appearance! Have a deep sense of gratitude for whatever you receive in life and be thankful to Almighty that there is some one around to care and think for you...
With Love,
Image Courtesy : Google Images
and the student came back to give another flagon of stale water.the teacher thanked him.and this went for another year.
ReplyDelete[then the teacher finally shouted at him to leave him alone and hurt the student.the student never came back again]-viewers cut
[the teacher died from consumption of the stale bacterial water]-dir cut
free
lovely post....very very insightful...:)
ReplyDeleteHi Shruti,,,,
ReplyDeletethe post is timely, relevant and contemporary....
In the era of globalised-commercial-corporate-consumerist-mindset where the rat race of materialistic possessions is of prime and substantial importance, the ray of gratitude is being seen at horizons....
WOW... nice thoughts girl..
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent post on gratitude. I could not say any better. One thing I have noticed is that some people do not know how to accept a gift with grace. They immediately think that they have to give a gift back in return.
ReplyDeleteman this is like awesome thought... keep it up!!!
ReplyDeletehey very true shruti
ReplyDeletegratitude brings wisdom to people
good topic
SO true ,
ReplyDeletea little bit of gratitude can make a lot of difference ... in our life..
Keep writing and Smiling :)
very nice message Shruti... and rightly said... :)
ReplyDeleteloved this post :)
a request for you shruti... please add the archive in your sidebar... so that it will be easy to read the older posts...
ReplyDelete@Soin
ReplyDeleteWhat's ur cut/point/view here?!
Free free :P
@Kaka
ReplyDeleteHey thanks. Somebody is regularly reading my posts like before it seems?!
:) Thanks da :)
@Mahesh
ReplyDeleteVery true mahi(hope i can call u like that). We are indeed seeing gratitude at the horizons. As u said, in this materialistic world, we are forgetting the basic elements of life like love, affection, gratitude..
@Raji
ReplyDeleteThanks sweety!
story is really nice.. :D
ReplyDeleteliked it so much :)
@SG
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my blog!!
U r true, the love and affection behind every gift vanishes. Only the price of the gift is valued!
Keep Visiting!
@Sid
ReplyDeleteThanks sidhu!
@Chetan
ReplyDeleteThank u chetan! Couldn't see you in my blog these days! Why?!
@Arnav
ReplyDelete""a little bit of gratitude can make a lot of difference""
Really it makes much difference :)
@Kanagu
ReplyDeleteThanks buddy!
@Kanagu
ReplyDeleteActually Some problem persisted with my template while adding archives with hierarchical selection! I have added now with some modifications! Kindly adjust with me :)
@Anoop
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot anoop Ji!
awsome is the word from me :)
ReplyDeleteROTFL @ soin's imagination..hehehe..
ReplyDeleteokay on a serious note, you are so right girl.. there are some people who look at the value of the gift and not at the intention behind the gift :)
And agree with Kanagu, it's harder to read your old posts
Loved the post, my favourite quotation concerns gratitude.
ReplyDelete"Todays gratitude buys you tomorrows happiness"
Take care.
Yvonne.
You have thrown me ni nostalgia...
ReplyDeletecheck my blog in some time ...:)
Beautiful mesagge said in a lovely way Shruti!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's the feeling of gratefullness that many times build the bond between the people.
So when are going to show me ur gratitude by giving me a gift??? :-)
amazing thoughts shruti...U too can gift me, I will show a lot of gratitude for the amazing stuff u will gift me...:D
ReplyDeletenice post...:))
@Vishal
ReplyDeleteThank u!
@Avada
ReplyDelete:P
Hey thanks girlie!
Regarding the archieves, i Can't add the hierarchy of my old posts! Some problem is occurring! But I have just included a tab for my archieves!!
SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!
@Yvonne
ReplyDeleteVery aptly said quote lady :)
@Makk
ReplyDeleteNostalgia?!
Why? What i did?! :O
@Bala
ReplyDeleteThanku bala!
Gift for u?!?!? :O :O :O
Ne yaaru pa? Unperu yenna?! :P
@Neha
ReplyDelete:O :O :O
gifting u?!
Come on neha, am just a kiddo! Give me gifts and make me happy!! Also see my gratitude :P
girl, being a kiddo, still u have so much of understanding...u r mentally very mature...i m not :P
ReplyDeleteso stop being very modest...I am waiting for my gifts..:D:D:D
Love the tale! The sad thing is, world is becoming more and more materialistic day by day.
ReplyDeleteU bring out posts that can be leafed through at ease & at the same time worth reading :)
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work :)
keep blogging
cheers!!!
@Shruti...
ReplyDeleteGift kettathuke nee yaaru nu ketuta... Ithu than un gratefulness ah???? So reminding me ur words 'writing is easy doing it is tough'...
@Neha
ReplyDeleteAm mentally mature?! :O :O
Gift?
As the saying goes, "TRUE LOVE AND AFFECTION IS THE GREATEST GIFT IN THIS WORLD"
my true love and affection will always be there for u!! :)
I have given u the best gift neha!
yenahta?? oru 50 cutting..yaaru kuduthalum gratitude oda,attitude illama vanguvom..free
ReplyDelete@Darshan
ReplyDeleteTrue, materialistic love, care everything!
:)
@Sathish
ReplyDeleteWelcome back after a long time :)
Thank u so much for those encouraging words :)
@Bala
ReplyDeleteaaha! Kelambitangaya...
As the saying goes, "TRUE CARE AND AFFECTION IS THE GREATEST GIFT IN THIS WORLD"
my true love and affection will always be there for u!! :)
I have given u the best gift Bala!
@Soin
ReplyDeleteAdha than inda kalathu pasanga vanguvaanga!!
very nice!!! :) liked it . simple message.. profound meaning.
ReplyDelete@MM
ReplyDeleteThank u shruti!
Extremely thoughtful post. Got me thinking hard about the last gift I have received !! heehee.. :)
ReplyDelete@Lostworld
ReplyDelete:)
So what was the last gift u got???
shruti, i am so touched with your comments...thank you thank you...
ReplyDeleteproper revert na to ur wonderful comments? ok now let's talk about materialistic gifts...so what u have in store for me now? :D :D
@Neha
ReplyDeleteMaterialistic gifts?!
Hmm... U got me as ur friend, critic, well wisher! That is the bigggg gift u got in life :) :P :D
Now, your thirst for gifts would've quenched! :P :D
Correct na?!
Oh... Ippa innoru saying solli thappikaraya... too bad...
ReplyDeleteAiyooo... Mudiyala... Nenja thottutta po....
great post shruthi..
ReplyDeletevery insightful and thought provoking!!
Lovely post :)
ReplyDeleteAcha now when you buy some gifts for Neha , buy 200-300 gifts (zyada nai bolungi main :P) for me too.. I'll let you see my gratitude :P
@shruti
ReplyDeletei was bizy these days, preparing for an interview, even i can't find myself on my blog
wish me luck,
shruti. i think u paired up with americanising desi are gonna convert me. :)
ReplyDeletematter mukiyam ila...matter la irukira anbu than mukiyam... Soin namala mathiri mokai aitan pola :D ...anyways writing a neat and enjoyable comment is the Gratitude is what a reader can do for a blogger..? Epadi nama write!
ReplyDelete@Bala
ReplyDeleteSari sari vidu vidu!!
Arasiyalla idellam saadharanamappa!
@Ekam
ReplyDeleteArey yaar! Come on! Afterall we are kiddo's! Lets ask neha ji for bigggg gifts so that we can show her the true meaning of gratitude :)
@Chetan!
ReplyDeleteHey don't worry buddy! u will surely get a very good job!
My best wishes to u!!
@RSV
ReplyDeleteThanks bhaiyya!
@RAJ
ReplyDelete:O :O :O
Convert u into what?!
@Hary
ReplyDeletePinrappa pinrappa! Yepdi ipdilam?! Adhuva varutho!! Sebba!
Kannakattudhey!
exactly shruti.. its the thought behind the gift which matters more than the gift itself.. thats why i stop with the thought process and my frend kicks my butt.. unfair world..
ReplyDelete@Abdul
ReplyDeleteHeheheh :P
Lol :D
Even I would like to stop with thoughts! But, yevalavo paathutom, idha paaka matoma! :P
I eco your thoughts for the second time in a row
ReplyDeleteVery intelligent and timely post,especially during this festive season.During Diwali,the feeling of gift is measured by it's value not by the sentiment.
ReplyDeleteI hope we learn from your post.
@Venky
ReplyDeleteThat's an achievement na?!
@Chowla Ji
ReplyDeleteIts a must learn thing na?!
thats a good post... gratitude is so important..and the story was excellent...
ReplyDelete@Shankar
ReplyDeleteThanks da :)
rightly pointed out ...its the gesture that matters not the material its attached to
ReplyDelete@Naveen
ReplyDeleteU got it right!
Thatz so beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteSo rt! It might be one in oh so many that we have received! But means so much for the one who hs given it to us :) Wonderful lesson there!
@Swaram
ReplyDeletethanks sweety!!
hi shruti,
ReplyDeletelovelyy story yaar..absolutley touching and it provides the mesaage that everyone needs to have in mind..
gratitude is a divine act to show, irrespective of the materialistic things abt it..
:) Good post shruti.i love the way u r growing with ur blog..all the vesry best my dear..
@Prams
ReplyDeleteHey thanks!
Am i growing?! I don't know.. But, i realized many things when am writing different things!