What My Neighbor's Free Fruit Taught Me About Being Rich
A simple sign appeared on a tree in my neighborhood.
"Free Asian Pears - Take as many as you want."
I grabbed a bunch. Dried them. Brought them into the office in a pretty bowl.
What happened next changed how I think about generosity forever.
You see, I thought I was just sharing some dried fruit.
But one woman looked at those pears and said, "I've got an Asian Pear tree, and I never think of drying them. I'm going to share the fruit with my neighbors rather than letting them all rot."
Then someone else asked, "Have you tried drying persimmons?"
Suddenly I was looking at the persimmon tree I'd been ignoring in my own yard.
Do you see what happened?
One person's simple act of generosity unlocked mine. My generosity unlocked someone else's. Her generosity would unlock her neighbors'. On and on and on.
But here's what really stopped me in my tracks this week...
I discovered stories of people who gave away fortunes from almost nothing.
A washerwoman who saved coins her entire life and gave away $150,000 to help students go to college.
A factory worker who gave away over a million dollars over his lifetime to fund scholarships.
These weren't wealthy people. They were people who understood something most of us miss:
The real value of generosity isn't in the gift itself. It's in the ripple effects that flow out from it, touching lives you'll never even know about.
And here's the secret nobody talks about:
The giver is always the one who changes the most.
Tomorrow morning, I'm going to share stories that will completely change how you think about what you have to give. Stories about Asian pears and thank you cards. About bicycle tubes and cell phones. About hope and time and the multiplying power of a single generous act.
Because here's what I've discovered:
The most generous people I know aren't the wealthiest.
In fact, some of the most generous people I know have almost nothing.
But they understand something that changes everything.
And tomorrow, I want to share that understanding with you.
Join us Sunday, October 19th at 9am or 11am, Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa 2075 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Can't make it in person? Watch live online at 9am on our YouTube channel:
See you there.
Dr. Edward Viljoen
P.S. Stay after service to receive your handout with this week's Spiritual Mind Treatment and the Science of Mind principles behind the message. I'll be in the social hall after services, handing them out personally.
Try our online spiritual mind treatment generator:
https://edblogword.blogspot.com/p/spiritual-mind-treatment-generator.html
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