HELLO MI NEIGHBOUR | Learn the value of giving

Hello mi neighbour! Good to see you again! Keeping safe? Good! Trying times eeenh? Mmmm. Whatever may or may not be keeping in this pandemic, for sure the need to show kindness to others ‘is always keeping’. So, after a short break, we are back with the weekly reminder of our primordial duty to love your neighbour as yourself and to do unto them the kindness you would desire of them – just in case life’s hardships have caused us to forget!

Below is a modified story which we hope will open the reader’s appetite to become more helpful to others.

*Mary and father were standing in a line to buy entry tickets at a circus. In front of them were eight young children and their parents. One could easily tell from the way they were dressed that they didn’t have much money, but their clothes were neat and clean and they were well-behaved. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns and the acts they would see for the first time in their life.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing as proudly as ever. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, ‘you’re my knight in shining armour’. As he smiled, the ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? “I’d like to buy eight for the children and two for the adults, so I can take my family to the circus,” he confidently said.

When he heard the price of the tickets, his wife let go of his hand, her head dropped and his lips quivered. The man didn’t have enough money! How could he break this news to the children who were bursting with excitement by now?

EMBARRASSING SITUATION

Seeing what was happening, *Mary’s dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, dropped it on the ground, bent down, picked it up and then tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this could have fallen from you.” Understanding what was happening, the man looked in the eyes of Mary’s dad and appreciated his help in a desperate and embarrassing situation.

Mary and her father went back to their car and drove home. The $20 that her dad gave away to save a day was to buy their own tickets. “Although we didn’t get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.”

That day Mary learned the value of giving: The giver is bigger than the receiver. If you want to be large – larger than life, learn to give. In this and many other contexts, love has less to do with what you receive than what you give.

Remember, whenever we give to the needy, whether in the short or long run, we receive a depth of satisfaction which is unpurchasable by cash, and many blessings besides. As you give to others today, do so cheerfully, and even if you do not desire anything in return, you will receive abundant blessings!

Those who always enable others to say “thanks” will themselves, always, have reasons for saying thanks.

Thanks to

1. Robert, USA, for donation geared towards neighbours welfare.

2. Neighbour for purchasing diapers for needy neighbour’s child.

3. Neighbour for donating children’s clothing to a needy neighbour.

4. Young female neighbour for assisting an elderly female farmer with planting.

KINDLY HELP SOMEONE FROM LIST BELOW

1. Neighbour, St Catherine, asking for TV, among other household appliances.

2. Neighbour, St Catherine, mother of three, asking for a stove.

3. Leroy, Kingston, in need of food.

4. Neighbour asking for a refrigerator.

5. Paulette, Clarendon, asking for clothing.

6. Pearl, St Catherine, badly in need of building materials, etc.

To help, please call Silton Townsend @ 334-8165, 884-3866, or deposit in acct #351 044 276 NCB. Alternatively, send donations to HELLO NEIGHBOUR c/o 53 Half-Way Tree Road, Kingston 10; Paypal/credit card: email: zicron22@yahoo.com. Contact email: helloneighbour@yahoo.com. Visit hellomineighbourja.blogspot.com. Mr Townsend exclusively manages the collections and distributions mentioned in this column and is neither an employee nor agent of The Gleaner.