Smart people will always seek ways, jobs,
and chances to contribute more than to simply indulge. Our contribution must surpass our enjoyment. That surplus will be the blessing to keep our life in peace and happiness.
HOMELESSNESS
A poor man pleaded with the bread vendor:
"Please give me half of a loaf, or I cannot sleep tonight due to hunger."
The bread vendor cut half of a loaf and gave it to the man. Immediately two other men asked for more bread for the same reason. Sighing, the bread vendor gave them bread, then asked:
"Why are you so miserable?"
One man replied:
"I was very rich before, abundant in everything like houses, cars, girls, and of course, I had whatever I wanted to eat. Something like this bread would be thrown into the trash bin. I did business in stocks, bought when the price was low and sold when the price was high. I could earn billions with each transaction. Once, expecting too much from the market, I put in all my money, borrowed a big loan from others, and bought a huge amount of stocks. No one knew that its price went down until the company went completely bankrupt. My stocks were but a pile of waste paper. Immediately, everything disappeared. It is lucky for me now that you are very kind to feed me. I have never been a beggar before so I cannot beg well, I am very hungry..."
The second recounted:
"I was extremely rich before. I was in Hongkong in the morning then Macau in the evening and could win at the gambling machines there. But I did not know that it was only a trick. I spent up all of my money in a fierce game. They escorted me to the airport with a ticket home. My fortune was gone with a big debt. I must run for the rest of my life..."
The third said:
"I put all of my money to invest in bitcoin. I even bought the whole hydroelectricity plant to have enough power to run the computers day and night. I became a billionaire in that virtual world, until one day bitcoin was no longer accepted as a currency. All the governments prohibited cryptocurrency. Eventually, I came back to my real world as a beggar, very sad..."
The bread vendor said:
"You three resemble each other in the way you did business. Your businesses brought no benefits for society, just for your personal interests. Thanks to your good karma from the previous lives, you were able to be successful for a while. When your good karma ran out, you became miserable. For me, I push this cart to sell bread. I have something to serve in real life. I earn very little, but it is stable. You should think again. Even in this poor situation, you must try your best to do something useful with your life, for everybody. Who knows, one day you will be able to get back up again."
Food, clothes, and money that come to us are all from someone else in this society. As we receive such assets, we must contribute something useful to this society in return. It is fair. The more we contribute useful things to life, the more benefits life will bring back to us. If we only care about money, nothing but money, and we are unaware of our responsibilities and do nothing useful for society, then money will leave us eventually.
Smart people will always seek ways, jobs, and chances to contribute more than to simply indulge. Our contribution must surpass our enjoyment. That surplus will be the blessing to keep our life in peace and happiness.
Written by:
Janna
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