Gifts from the heart
According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet. He filled his leather canteen so that he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.
Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher, “Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?”
The teacher replied, “You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter.”
I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it’s a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.
Gratitude doesn’t always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.
來自內(nèi)心的禮物
有 這樣一個(gè)傳說：一個(gè)年輕人在沙漠里漫游時(shí)偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了一眼清泉。泉水清冽甘甜，于是年輕人用隨身的革制水壺盛了一壺，想要帶回去送給部落里一位曾做過他老師 的老人。四天跋涉后，他終于將水送給了老人。老人滿滿飲了一口，露出了使人如沐春風(fēng)的笑容，他對(duì)泉水的甘冽贊不絕口，也毫不吝惜對(duì)學(xué)生的感謝之詞。于是年 輕人滿心歡喜地回村去了。
后來，老師請(qǐng)另外一位學(xué)生嘗了嘗泉水。學(xué)生一喝便吐了出來，說難喝極了。顯然，水因?yàn)檠b在老舊的革制水壺里而不新鮮了。于是學(xué)生找到老師，質(zhì)疑地問道：“老師，水明明難以下咽，你為什么還假裝很喜歡？”
老師說：“你嘗到的僅僅是泉水，而我品到的則是饋贈(zèng)。泉水不過是滿盛著善舉的容器罷了，沒有什么比善舉更能沁人心脾了。”
我想在我們收到孩子們充滿愛心的、純潔的禮物時(shí)可以很好地理解這個(gè)道理。不管那禮物是用陶瓷制的盤子還是用通心粉做的手鐲，最自然和最合適的回應(yīng)都是欣賞和表達(dá)謝意，因?yàn)槲覀兿矚g這禮物所包含的心意。
感恩之心并不是與生俱來的。不幸的是，多數(shù)孩子和許多成人僅僅在乎所得的價(jià)值而不是禮物所承載的深情。我們應(yīng)該時(shí)刻提醒自己，也要教育我們的子女，感激之情有多么美麗與純潔，以及如何表達(dá)感恩的心情。不管怎樣，發(fā)自內(nèi)心的饋贈(zèng)才是盛滿了真心的禮物。
心存感激，品讀心意，原來生活可以如此美麗。
