Service/ Helping Others

Once upon a time a farmer planted a peach tree in fertile soil.

Underneath the peach tree there lived a big earthworm, called a night crawler. It went through the soil by digging tunnels, and then using those tunnels to travel. It came up, usually at night and sometimes on wet rainy days, to eat the rotting leaves laying on top of the ground. It helped recycle the leaves by eating them and then turning them into castings to fertilize the soil. It went deep into the ground if the weather above was too hot or too cold.

Now the peach tree grew fast. Every Spring, it woke up. It had to bloom, grow leaves and bigger branches, and finally when it was old enough, have fruit by Summer. Else the farmer might chop it down.

Then in the Fall when it got colder, its leaves would change color and fall onto the ground. It was dormant all Winter long.

As the peach tree grew, it found out how difficult it was to grow its roots directly into the hard dirt. It looked for an easier way. So it began to grow its roots into the tunnels the night crawler had made. As the tree grew, its roots also grew, and soon the night crawler's tunnels were plugged shut.

The night crawler could not come up for food. So, in order to stay alive and keep from starving, it had to dig more tunnels. It did not like to do this, because, night crawlers are sort of lazy.

And the peach tree didn't like shedding its leaves each Fall just before the cold Winter.

But do you know what?

They were both helping each other, and by doing this, they were actually helping themselves.

The peach tree had to shed its leaves which the earthworm ate and the earthworm's castings fed the peach tree.

And the earthworm had to dig more tunnels which allowed the peach tree to grow bigger so that in the Fall there were plenty of good leaves (and maybe a peach or two that the farmer missed) for the earthworm to eat.

"And they lived happily ever after."

This is a story: about how what you do may unknowingly help the people around you. It is also a story about gratitude, hard work and working together.

Once upon a time a man had heard that in a foreign place, far away, there was a holy flame burning. So he got up and left his home to find the holy flame and bring some of its light back home to his house.

He thought: 'When I have this light, then I will have happiness and life and all the people I love will have it too.'

He travelled far, far away and finally found the holy flame, with which he lit his light. On his way back he had only one worry: 'That his light could go out.'

On his way home he met someone who was freezing and didn't have any fire and who begged him to give him some of his fire. The man with the light hesitated for a moment. Wasn't his light too precious, too holy to be given away for something ordinary like that? Despite these doubts, he decided to give some of his light to the one who was freezing in the darkness.

The man continued his journey home and when he had almost reached his house a terrible thunderstorm started. He tried to protect his light from the rain and the storm, but in the end his light went out.

To travel the long way back to the place where the holy flame was burning was impossible; he wouldn't have enough strength to go back that far - but he was strong enough to return to the human being whom he had helped on his way home.

.........and with his light he could light his own again.

There are two seas in Palestine. One is fresh, and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of its healing waters.

…The River Jordon makes this sea with sparkling water from the hills. So it laughs in the sunshine. And men build their houses near to it, and birds their nests and every kind of life is happier because it is there.

The River Jordan flows on south into another sea.

Here is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children’s laughter. Travellers choose another route, unless on urgent business. The air hangs heavy above its water, and neither man nor beast nor fowl will drink.

What makes this mighty difference in these neighbor seas? Not the River Jordan. It empties the same good water into both. Not the soil in which they lie; not in the country round about.

This is the difference. The Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop that flows into it another drop flows out. The giving and receiving go on in equal measure.

The other sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. It will not be tempted into any generous impulse. Every drop it gets, it keeps.

The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. This other sea gives nothing. It is named the Dead.

There are two kinds of people in this world. There are two seas in Palestine.

Bruce Barton

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully,
and before it blossomed, he examined it.
He saw the bud that would soon blossom and also the thorns.
And he thought, "How can any beautiful flower
come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?"
Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose,
and before it was ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people.
Within every soul there is a rose.
The God-like qualities planted in us at birth
grow amid the thorns of our faults.
Many of us look at ourselves
and see only the thorns and the defects.
We despair, thinking that nothing good
can possibly come from us.
We neglect to water the good within us,
and eventually it dies.
We never realize our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves;
someone else must show it to them.
One of the greatest gifts a person can possess
is to be able to reach past the thorns
and find the rose within others.

This is the characteristic of love,
to look at a person, and knowing his faults,
recognize the nobility in his soul,
and help him realize that he can
overcome his faults.
If we show him the rose,
he will conquer the thorns.
Then will he blossom, blooming forth thirty,
sixty, a hundred-fold as it is given to him.
Our duty in this world is to help others
by showing them their roses and
not their thorns.

Only then can we achieve the love
we should feel for each other;
only then can we bloom in our own garden.

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the kingdom’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along, carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tied to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand: Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition.

Brian Cavanaugh

A young boy and his father were out for a walk and came across a huge boulder on the road. The curious little boy looked up at his father and asked, “Dad, do you think I can move that big boulder?” His father looked at his son thoughtfully and then answered, “If you use all your strength, I know you can.” So the little guy ran over, and straining and groaning, tried to move the huge rock, but of course, could not. Discouraged, he looked up at his father and said, “You’re wrong, Dad. I can’t do it.” To this his father replied, “Oh, but you didn’t use all your strength. You didn’t ask me to help you.” As the young boy discovered, you don’t have to face obstacles alone. Often we make the assumption that we can do all things alone, when in reality our strength comes from reaching out. When you can use a helping hand to “lift” an obstacle out of your path, you “double your strength” by asking for help and assistance.

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert-like island.

The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing. 

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife would leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. 

The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, “why are you leaving your companion on the island?:

“My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them.” the first man answered, “His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.”

“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”

“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?” “He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

In a land far away, once upon a time there was great poverty: only the rich could manage without great problems. Three of those rich men, and their servants, were traveling on the same road, in a convoy, when they came to a very poor village. Seeing this poverty provoked different reactions in all three rich men.

The first couldn't stand to see it, so he took all the gold and jewels from his wagons and shared them out among the villagers. He wished them all the best of luck, and he left.

The second rich man, seeing the desperate situation, stopped for a short time, and gave the villagers all his food and drink, since he could see that money would be of little use to them. He made sure that each villager received their fair share and would have enough food to last for some time. Then, he left.

The third rich man, on seeing such poverty, speeded up and traveled straight through the village without stopping. The two other rich men saw this from a distance, and commented with each other how the third rich man lacked decency and compassion. It was good that they had been there to help the poor villagers...

However, three days later, they met the third rich man who was traveling in the opposite direction. He was still traveling quickly, but his wagons, instead of the gold and valuables they had been carrying, were now full of farming implements, tools, and sacks of seeds and grain. He was heading to the poor village to help them out of poverty.

This happened a long, long time ago, but we can see the very same thing happening today too. There are some generous people who give only so that people can see how much they are giving. They don't want to know anything about the people they are giving to.

Other generous people really try to help others, but only so that they can feel better about themselves.

But there are other generous people: the best kind. To them it doesn't matter what the other kinds of generous people think of them. Nor do they give in a showy way. Instead, they truly worry about how best to improve the lives of those they are helping. They give greatly of something much more valuable than money. They give their time, their vision and their lives.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.

He held up a sign which said “I am blind, please help.”

There were only a few coins in his hat.

A man walked by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.

He then took the sign, turned it around and wrote some words.

He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by will see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up.

A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.

The boy recognised his footsteps and asked “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” What I had written was “Today is a BEAUTIFUL day and I cannot see it.”

Lesson 1: Be thankful for what you have. Someone else has less. Help where you can.

Lesson 2; Be CREATIVE, INNOVATIVE, THINK DIFFERENTLY. There is always a better way!

As human beings, we’re not perfect,

And we’re not supposed to be.

But that’s not always an easy thing for us to realize.

The best we can do is to do the best we can,

Give it our all, and always give thanks.

We don’t make it alone in this world,

We’re lucky that there are people

Placed in our path to guide us,

Protect us, and touch our lives

So that we can get through it all…

One day at a time.

 -Julia Escobar

For attractive lips, speak fords of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walked alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have 2 hands; 1 for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.