By Paulo Coelho
Bruno Ferrero tells a story that one day, a countryman knocked hard on a monastery door. When the monk tending the gates opened up, he was given a magnificent bunch of grapes.
- Brother, these are the finest my vineyard has produced. I’ve come to bear them as a gift.
- Thank you! I will take them to the Abbot immediately, he’ll be delighted with this offering.
- No! I brought them for you.
- For me? - the monk blushed, for he didn’t think he deserved such a fine gift of nature.
- Yes! - insisted the man. - For whenever I knock on the door, it is you opens it. When I needed help because the crop was destroyed by drought, you gave me a piece of bread and a cup of wine every day. I hope this bunch of grapes will bring you a little of the sun’s love, the rain’s beauty and the miracle of God, for it is he made it grow so fine.
The monk held the grapes and spent the entire morning admiring it: it really was beautiful. Because of this, he decided to deliver the gift to the Abbot, who had always encouraged him with words of wisdom.
The Abbot was very pleased with the grapes, but he recalled that there was a sick brother in the monastery, and thought:
"I’ll give him the grapes. Who knows, they may bring some joy to his life."
And that is what he did. But the grapes didn’t stay in the sick monk’s room for long, for he reflected:
"The cook has looked after me for so long, feeding me only the best meals. I’m sure he will enjoy these."
When the cook appeared at lunch, to bring him his meal, he presented him with the grapes.
- They’re for you - said the sick monk. - Since you are always coming into contact with that which nature produces, you will know what to do with this work of God.
The cook was amazed at the beauty of the grapes, and showed his assistant how perfect they were. So perfect, he thought to himself, that no one would appreciate them more than the sexton; since he was responsible for the Holy Sacrament, and many at the monastery considered him a holy man, he would be best qualified to value this marvel of nature.
The sexton, in turn, gave the grapes as a gift to the youngest novice, that he might understand that the work of God is in the smallest details of Creation. When the novice received them, his heart was filled with the Glory of the Lord, for he had never seen such beautiful grapes. Just then, he remembered the first time he came to the monastery, and of the person who had opened the gates for him; it was that gesture which allowed him to be among this community of people who knew how to value the wonders of life.
And so, just before nightfall, he took the grapes to the monk at the gates.
- Eat and enjoy them - he said. - For you spend most of your time alone here, and these grapes will make you very happy.
The monk understood that the gift had been truly destined for him, and relished each of the grapes, before falling into a pleasant sleep.
Thus the circle was closed; the circle of happiness and joy, which always shines brightly around generous people.
Welcome to Share with Friends - Free Texts for a Free Internet
From “Zahir”, my favourite. The story really amazed me.
Thelma: Thinking of the others is important, but for some people it's becomes the only thing they do. Everything should have its boundaries.
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What a beautiful story, I used to think that joy lies deep inside my heart and God is far, far away. You know, it was like trying to see a painting with a microscope and find a friend with the Hubble Space Telescope. Turned out God is joy and they are everywhere (of course, they are also in my heart). This story also reminds me of what it means to share your happiness with others.
Thanks Paulo,
Lewis
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what goes around comes around?
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I believe that the saying “the eyes are the window to our soul” corresponds perfectly here..But i give to it a differnet meaning : The way we see the world with our eyes corresponds to our soul..so the eyes are the window..to seeing the world and to seeing our soul..i mean if we see that the world is beautiful then we are beautiful inside..if we see the world as a very scaring place to live, we are scared inside..if we show generosity to the world, we are generous inside..
So spreading joy and love then the world become joyful and a lovely place to live, which come back to us, and fill us with joy and love, and we are all that inside..Life..
Love and Graditude
Annie
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You are right, dear Paul from Austria! It is so difficult for me to ‘receive’… I feel I am loosing my ‘freedom’ and that I will have to be …grateful for ever..[Egoism??]
LOVE and ….Gratitude,
Thelma
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Giving is truly a most rewarding act, … the act of grateful receipt however must also be learned…
Love & as our dear Aniie always says… Gratitude, Paul x
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I love that story. Thank you.
You are true Thelma.
Nice weekend to all of you.
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@ Just Adams
My dear friend, from my experience and metaphysical laws, I have found out that whatever you give or think, it comes back to us, seven times stronger!!
So we must be careful even with our wishes or words… Of course, we will not ‘press’ ourselves to think of others first, but Love will show us the way.
Love,
Thelma
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It is right to do good to others to make them happy but we must not forget that we must also be happy….
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“the alchemist” the reason why I love to read books, especially novels…it really amazed me and it had taught me important lesson so much useful in life.
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A nice story to read on a Friday.
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What a delightful story! One of my teachers said years ago that love, praise and gratitude ignite us with the best in us and grow when we use them. This story is a great example of this. What we do and put in circulation matters, it really does have an effect both in us and in the people involved which might be many more than we realize…
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We all deserve happiness and joy , as this man still passed it on through his good intentions,compassion he still recieved it - what belongs to us by our divine right is always given even if it takes a bit of a journey to get there.Blessings Tania
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Or…like an old aunt of mine, who loves to read and buy books. And she can only stuff so many books in her house. So, we always know for birthdays or Christmases, we will get a book, that she already have read. We know by the dog eared pages! Or…have you borrowed books at libraries, where they are already high lighted. In college it saved time reading text books other students had high lighted for you before exam, and it could be exciting to read those margin notes too.
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What a wonderful story. You have heard how it is when we give away money, the more we give the less we will have left, while when we give love, the more we give the more we get. Also, this story made me think of a term used here in the USA. Re-gifting. A problem in the materialistic society is that people give each other so much they don’t need, that to get rid of the “crap” we got, we give a present on to somebody else who doesn’t need it. And, listen to this saying; “We borrow money to buy things we don’t need to impress friends we don’t like”… So this simple story, with something lovely as fresh, natural grapes and all the generous men in that convent, makes me happy to read.
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From “Zahir”, my favourite. The story really amazed me.
Thelma: Thinking of the others is important, but for some people it’s becomes the only thing they do. Everything should have its boundaries.
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The lesson of forgetting ourselves and always thinking first of the others. Altruism.
Love,
Thelma
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Life is a circle…We humans attempt to keep it linear….but it is a circle.
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