The following post is from the archives of the Catholic Goan Network �CGN� � I remember Rene Barreto (UK) writing me to send it to GoaNet. I tried a couple times, but the post did not appear on GoaNet, due to some technical problems. Here it is. I hope you enjoy and share it with family and friends.
Dear Friends:
The story below �Why Do You Share�?� exemplifies �altruism.�
Altruism: Action that benefits another person, including comforting, helping, sharing, rescuing and cooperating. Acts of concern for other people --without any hope of reward.
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WHY DO YOU SHARE...? -James Bender
A reporter once asked a farmer to divulge the secret behind his corn, which won the state fair contest year after year. The farmer confessed it was all because he shared his seed with his neighbors.
"Why do you share your best seed corn with your neighbors when you're entering the same contest each year as well?" asked the reporter.
"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbor do the same."
And so it is with other situations in our lives. Those who want to be successful must help their neighbors, friends, relatives be successful.
Those who choose to live well must help others live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.
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SERVICE WAS JOY ~Rabindranath Tagore
"I slept�and dreamed that life was joy. I woke�and saw that life was but service. I served�and understood that service was joy."
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A PRAYER ~Anonymous
"Dear Lord, please give me A few friends who understand me and remain my friends; A work to do which has real value, without which the world would be the poorer; A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed; An understanding heart; A sense of humor; Time for quiet, silent meditation; A feeling of the presence of God; The patience to wait for the coming of these things, With the wisdom to recognize them when they come. Amen."
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STONES ~Jennifer Avalon
Picture yourself in the middle of a field. . .behind you is your past, in front of you is your future. As you look behind you see a number of different objects that represent a collection of where you have been and what you have done with your life. As you gaze ahead you see, standing before you, large objects made of stone. In your hands are a chisel and a hammer. What you do with these tools is your decision, but whatever you do, it is a decision.
The rocks or stones are of all different shapes and sizes. . . no two are the same, but to proceed in your life you must in some way leave your impressions on these stones. Some are easy to sculpt, others extremely difficult, but one by one each must be left with a sign that you have been there. I guess we could call this field of stones the "Field of Life." Some of us are just entering the field, as children. . . others are in the middle, and some are preparing to leave. If up until now the sculpturing and carvings that you have left on the rocks behind you are not what you consider a good representation of who you are, there are always the stones ahead. Some runners in a race lag behind. . . until the final stretch. Then all of a sudden they get a burst of energy. What I mean is, it's not too late to turn it around, if in the past things didn't seem to go according to plan.
Stones are very strange objects. You can chip away all day and at first it looks like nothing is taking place. . . but slowly images do start to appear. It takes work...sometimes hard work, to sculpt the future. It's not always easy in this field called Life, but it's important that we come to terms with it and see that there is a bigger picture. As we approach each rock some, no matter how we try, don't succumb to our energy or our thoughts. . . that's okay. . . nobody's perfect. . . but you can always say you gave it your best shot.
At the end of the field is a fence, and at the end of our lives we climb over that fence, and I believe, waiting on the other side, is God, and our deceased family and friends. Slowly we turn and together with God we look back and see our life's sculptures....they represent who we were and what we did. It may be hard for us to see the "failures," but I have a feeling each one of us will hear lines like "Don't be sad, you did your best." If you fail along the way, if you can say, "I did my best," it does matter. What we all want to see, I think, is a field of many beautiful sculptures. . . sculptures of Love, Hope, and Humankindness.
Each one of us are artists. We may not be painters, but we do, in our own way, paint our futures. The creativity that we need is within us. As we start each new day, the stones await our vision.
Best wishes,
Joe Vaz
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